INTERNATIONAL

End of Rice Import Ban Won’t Mean Bargains for Consumers: Japan may have to give up its ban on rice imports to comply with international trade rules, but that won’t put cheaper foreign varieties on grocers’ shelves, a top government spokesman said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Koichi Kato said Tokyo may have to agree to a proposal by the chairman of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Arthur Dunkel, that would replace quotas and bans on farm imports with tariffs. Foreign Minister Michio Watanabe said in a speech over the weekend that Japan might inevitably be forced to give up its rice imports ban, but he also reassured his rural audience that tariffs as high as 600% would protect them from foreign competition.