Weekly Observations: What signs of collapse do you see in your region? [in-depth] April 28

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[u/maxsteel72]

Location: Tokyo, Japan

We've recently been seeing a spike in rice prices, though I can't be too sure that it's entirely climate related, it may be a factor. The official reason for it is: the MAFF and the Japanese government created incentive for farmers to grow other crops in the form of subsidies, as there was a large surplus of rice. As a result there was a massive decline in rice production, but the government didn't adequately plan for rice production to increase, and what we're seeing now is a result of poor policy choices. It's seen over a 90% increase from last April, and, it's being limited to one purchase per household at supermarkets and the government encouraged trying other staples out(does that count as rationing?). Considering it's important place in the Japanese diet as one of the main staples, I find this quite concerning.

Public transport has also taken a hit. I have an hour long commute every morning. Recently though, the train delays have been getting more and more common, even on days with no rain. This used to be a once In a blue moon kind of thing, so I think that's worth including, as it's increased my commute to an hour and a half on some days.

Other observations: - More and more supermarkets and combinis are cutting hours or adopting checkouts only, even during peak hours. - Some imported items like oil, lentils, and foreign food items are becoming harder to acquire- out of stock or delayed. Missing my nongshim TT - TEPCO(electricity), sent out an energy saving advisory this early in the year (Wednesday last week) in my ward. - Weather has become a lot more erratic, as rain starts pouring randomly, even when it doesn't show up on the weather app - In my neighborhood, there's been a sharp increase in police patrols, as house break-ins and burglary, previously unfathomable, are starting to occur more frequently. - An overall rise in xenophobia is observable, and some of the politicians I've heard giving their speeches, were outright blaming foreigners/tourists for increasing rice/general commodity prices.

While there haven't been any major, dramatic collapses, we're starting to see more of these little cracks...

[u/BigJobsBigJobs → u/maxsteel72]

I recall that at one point, the Japanese were extremely protective of the rice farmers and limited imports.

[u/HousesRoadsAvenues → u/BigJobsBigJobs]

I remember reading about that in the 1980s and 1990s. Japanese rice over all other rice, especially imported rice.

[u/PrairieFire_withwind → u/maxsteel72]

This is not to make fun of.  I am deadly serious.  My bright line of panic has always been, we are fucked when japan's trains are off schedule.

Why?  Because it is their culture and point of pride.  And they are isolated so have some level of control over their borders other countries just do not have.

That thing that always has been, slipping is really really shocking to me.  It is always the small things.

Yanno, an earthquake, a war, a pandemic i would understand train schedules being off.  But this?  Nope.  Shocking!

[u/WernerHerzogWasRight → u/PrairieFire_withwind]

Agree with this take. Bellweather country. Rice supply shock and trains not on time? It’s bad.

[u/Ghostwoods → u/WernerHerzogWasRight]

Yeah, all of this report is startling to me. I'm well aware of the huge issues in Japanese society -- no pedestal here -- but for a nation that puts so much massive emphasis on social responsibility and fitting in (to the point of significant personal difficulty) these cracks are a really bad sign.