Some Japan farmers see trade pact jolt as only way to survival

Tsuruoka, Japan

FAR from dreading the prospect of a Pacific trade deal that would open up Japanese markets to higher grain and meat imports, rice and pig farmer Kazushi Saito embraces it.

The 58-year-old, whose lush paddy fields in the Shonai plain overlook the Sea of Japan, is in the minority among farmers generally opposed to a pact being negotiated in Hawaii this week that could make selling their products harder.