Key Facts
• In Shiso City, Hyogo Prefecture, 69-year-old Gaku Tasumi continues rice farming.
• Tasumi manages 2.4 hectares, producing 360 bags (30 kg each) of rice in 2024.
• Despite rising rice prices since 2024, Tasumi reports financial losses.
• Farming equipment costs, including tractors and rice planters, total nearly ¥200 million.
• Tasumi, a former teacher, uses savings for equipment but cannot afford replacements.
• His wife, Hitomi, expresses concerns over the physical toll of aging on farming.
• Tasumi cites a sense of duty to preserve inherited land and family legacy.
• Shiso City, part of Japan’s mountainous ‘Chusankan’ regions, faces farming challenges.
• 40% of Japan’s farmland is in such regions, unsuitable for large-scale farming.
• Former city councilor Kazuo Imai warns of the decline of ‘pension farmers.’
• Imai advocates for government subsidies to sustain farming in these areas.
• Tasumi vows to farm as long as his body allows, maintaining the rural landscape.
Summary
In Shiso City, Hyogo Prefecture, 69-year-old Gaku Tasumi exemplifies the struggles of Japan’s ‘pension farmers.’ Despite rising rice prices, Tasumi faces financial losses due to high equipment costs, totaling nearly ¥200 million. A former teacher, he relies on savings for farming but cannot afford new machinery. His wife, Hitomi, highlights the physical challenges of aging farmers. Tasumi continues farming out of a sense of duty to preserve his family’s land and legacy. Shiso City, part of Japan’s ‘Chusankan’ regions, represents 40% of the nation’s farmland but is unsuitable for large-scale farming. Former councilor Kazuo Imai warns of the inevitable decline of ‘pension farmers’ and calls for government subsidies to sustain agriculture in these areas. Tasumi remains determined to farm as long as his health permits, aiming to maintain the rural landscape.
