Edition: U.S. / Global

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: Farmers; Growing Tangerines No Longer Pays

Published: March 1, 2003

Food-exporting powers routinely attack Japan as raising barriers against food imports and coddling the farmers behind those walls. But agriculture, like the rest of the country, is changing, albeit slowly. Now Japan produces only 40 percent of the food it consumes, and farming is becoming an occupation for retirees. In Shimuzu, a coastal town where Pacific sunrises once highlighted citrus groves dotted with golden fruit, mountain terraces are being abandoned. Farmers no longer make money from the Japanese tangerine, or mikan.

''My father started this mikan field,'' Ryotaro Nishigaya, 54, said over tea in his farmhouse. To his right sat his father, Tamotsu, an army war veteran whose bearing is still erect at 82. To his left sat Satoshi, his 17-year-old son, fidgety because he was missing cram time for college entrance exams.

''When I was little, I was brought up with my parents saying, 'You are going to succeed at your father's business,' '' Ryotaro said. ''I used to have more money than the average salaryman, but after the sharp drop in the mikan price, I had almost no extra spending money.''

Imports have cut the price of mikan in half over two years, to 30 cents a pound, he said, and ''we haven't bought a new van in 12 to 13 years.''

''More and more citrus juice is imported from Brazil,'' he continued. ''Also, they import very cheap canned mikan from China.''

His father, warming his arthritic hands by an electric heater, recalled that he planted the first family grove in 1935. ''I don't particularly hope for my grandsons to succeed in my business, because the industry is really getting worse,'' he said. ''I advise my grandsons to go into electronic engineering.''

With frugality in the air, his wife, Etsuko, explained how she went around the house, turning out lights, and at the supermarket, she said, ''I buy fewer sweets, fewer pastries, less juice.''

The Nishigayas have been spending around half of their income on private high schools and universities for their four children. On this afternoon, Fusashi, the oldest son at 22, was away studying engineering. Nearing graduation, he has accepted an offer of what looks like a secure job working for a heating and cooling company.

''They say it is full time and lifetime,'' he said by telephone, noting that only half of his classmates have gotten such job offers. ''People use air-conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter.''

His sister, Haruko, 25, is living the life of the new Japan, working for a manpower agency as a clerk in a local truck dealership, with no benefits and no job security.

''My position is really weak,'' said Haruko, who sat with the other Nishigaya women, a row behind the men. ''You never know if you might get fired tomorrow.''

At Haruko's age, Etsuko was married and already Haruko's mother. By contrast, Haruko has her own apartment and car and occasionally takes the train to Tokyo for concerts with friends. ''Now that I am living on my own, with my independent life, my finances are really tight,'' she said.

Asked about trends in weddings, Haruko said she had not been to one in years. ''Nowadays in Japan, very simple weddings have become very popular.'' JAMES BROOKE

Photo: Ryotaro Nishigaya, left, and his wife, Etsuko, sort fruit at their farm in Shimizu. ''I used to have more money than the average salaryman, but after the sharp drop in the price, I had almost no extra spending money,'' Mr. Nishigaya said. (Stuart Isett/Polaris, for The New York Times)