Beijing News (reporter Hou Wuting) On October 25, local time, Taro Aso, vice president of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said in a street speech in Hokkaido that "due to global warming, Hokkaido's rice is better." Japan's Tokyo Shimbun commented that climate change is a serious global problem, and the Liberal Democratic Party is also calling for a "carbon-neutral society". But the LDP's vice president made a statement during the House election that "global warming is not all bad", and the LDP's seriousness about climate policy is questionable.
On October 25, local time, Aso Taro said in a street speech, "Thanks to the increase in the average annual temperature of 2 °C, Hokkaido's rice is even better." In the past, hokkaido rice could not be sold, and it was called 'trouble rice' (Ehsuke Michimi, which means trouble in Japanese). Is this a farmer's effort? No. It's because the temperature is rising. ”
This statement not only "praised" global warming, but also denied the efforts of Hokkaido farmers. The Hokkaido Farmers' Union responded on October 26, "We must not accept remarks that defy the efforts of Hokkaido farmers, and we strongly protest [against Aso Taro's remarks]. ”
On October 26, local time, Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio apologized for Aso's remarks. He stressed that the rice is more delicious because of the efforts of the farmers, "Mr. Aso's remarks are inappropriate, very sorry." ”
However, according to Japan's Tokyo Shimbun, Kishida Fumio himself has made similar remarks. On October 25, he said in a conversation with local farmers in Kyoto, Japan, that because of climate change, hokkaido's rice quality will be better than in Japan's Tohoku and Hokuriku regions.
Taro Aso is the 92nd Prime Minister of Japan, currently vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, and president of the "Aso faction" of the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan.
Beijing News reporter Hou Wuting
Edited by Zhang Lei, proofread by Liu Yue
![Taro Aso claimed that "thanks to the blessing of a warming climate, Hokkaido rice has become delicious"[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)