The New York Times

October 17, 2003

Japan-Mexico Free Trade Talks Falter

Agricultural Sector Pressures Tokyo

Japan’s pig farmers and orange growers proved on Thursday to have more political power than the likes of Toyota. Honda and Nissan.

With President Vicente Fox of Mexico here to sign a free trade pact with Japan, talks broke down Thursday over Japan’s dogged defense of its pork and orange juice producers.

But with parliamentary elections three weeks away, Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party evidently feared angering its rural base. Because of districting, a rural vote can carry twice as much weight in Japan as an urban vote.