Farmers hold a protest march through Tokyo’s Shibuya and Minato wards, as well as in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, on March 30, seeking government support. (Shota Tomonaga, Nobufumi Yamada and provided by the executive committee of the protest in Hamamatsu)

Photo/Illutration A tractor joins the protest near Shibuya Station in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward on March 30. (Sho Tomonaga)

About 3,200 rice growers and dairy farmers, some driving tractors, held a protest in downtown Tokyo on March 30, demanding government measures for income security in the agriculture sector, the organizer said.

The farmers said they are struggling to continue their jobs and earn a living even after rice prices soared to a record high.

They called for income security at the same level as those in the United States and Europe.

The protest started at around 2:30 p.m., when about 30 tractors left Aoyama Park in Tokyo’s Minato Ward following the blowing of a conch shell.

After that, participants started to walk from Aoyama Park, shouting, “Protect farmers” and “Compensation for farmers.”

They marched through the Omotesando and Harajuku districts and ended up at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya Ward.

The president of the committee that organized the protest is Yoshihide Kanno, a 75-year-old farmer who lives in Yamagata Prefecture.

He noted that jobs are being lost as farmers age.

“Now, farmers often say a word that means ‘to terminate the farming job.’ We need to change this country to a place where the government protects farmers while connecting them with consumers through cherishing foods, farming and lives,” Kanno said.

Another farmer in his 70s came from Fukuoka Prefecture to join the protest in Tokyo.

“Rice prices have risen considerably. But this price level is essential for farmers to continue producing rice. I want people to understand the current situation,” he said.

According to the agriculture ministry, about 11.75 million people were dependent on farming for their livelihoods in 1960.

However, the number of farmers decreased to about 1.36 million in 2020, and their average age was 67.8 years old.

Farmers held protests at more than 10 locations across Japan, including Shizuoka and Oita prefectures, on March 30.

“In addition to surging material prices, we are facing the problem of having no successors. I want consumers to understand this,” Makoto Adachi, a 56-year-old fruit grower, said at the protest in Oita Prefecture.

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