The population in 1995 was over 125 million. The agricultural population is about 7.5 million. Although the percentage is small, agricultural production is important to feed the population. Rice is the staple food. Although rice consumption has declined, and more livestock and other horticultural products are raised, rice is still the most important agricultural product.
Rice provides about one-fourth of the daily calorie intake per person.
Rice cultivation has influenced the politics, economy, and culture of the country. Potential rice production now exceeds the demand for rice, and ricefields have been planted to other crops. To prevent the overproduction of rice, a policy aiming at the alternative use of ricefields has been promoted. The distribution of rice is partially controlled by the government. Recently Japan agreed to partially open this domestic rice market by fixing an import quota, which will increase to 1.0 million t by the year 2005.