New farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi plans to move from auctioning stockpiled rice to using no-bid contracts, with prices set through negotiation, in an effort to bring down record-high prices.
Koizumi, who took over after his predecessor, Taku Eto, stepped down over a gaffe about rice, faces the urgent task of bringing down prices. Public dissatisfaction has grown following Eto¡¯s comment that he never buys rice because his supporters give him so much he can sell the surplus.
¡°I¡¯ll focus on rice, considering myself as the rice minister,¡± Koizumi told reporters at the Prime Minister¡¯s Office on Wednesday.
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