The concept behind my proposal is partially derived from my personal
experience in
Europe. I visited Switzerland in 1976 as a second term legislator of a
prefectural government.
One day while on a bus, we stopped briefly at one of the rest stops. I
watched the bus driver and
conductor pulling up some yellow flowers and putting them into a little
bag. At first, I thought
they were collecting them to make herb medicine or something. I asked them
why they were
doing that and they said because they were told at school "some of these
yellow flowers contain
poison and if cows and goats eat them, it would be a loss to the whole
nation dependent on
agriculture and tourism. " I found their response to be more impressive than
any speech by an
agricultural minister during Diet debate.
I was so impressed by this attitude, I interviewed some of officials
engaged in
agricultural policy making and I found that "farmers in Switzerland are
public officials in
Switzerland through their agricultural practices. Their work assures that
the maintenance and
management of mountains and waters which are indispensable to the quality of
life of its citizens
assure the availability of the green space, water and air on which our
national industries and
businesses depend".
I could not help but see the tremendous difference in the level of
public concern between
the two countries. It was almost a shocking discovery to me that there must
be a philosophy and
a spirit behind a viable agricultural policy of a nation. Japan has grown
into one of the richest
nations in the world, but it is missing a certain spirit and philosophy.
Preservation of land,
water, and air and establishing appropriate relationships between urban and
rural areas for the
next generations and for posterity, which ensure a rich, humane
environment as well as
prosperity, certainly demand such a philosophy.
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