Japan will end trading in futures contracts for rice

In Japan, the Osaka Commodity Exchange Dojima will end trading in futures contracts for rice, Reuters reported. The last futures contracts will be traded in June 2022, when all concluded contracts expire. The trade, which began in 1730, ended after the samurai asked the Tokugawa shogunate for permission to trade in rice contracts on the Dojima Stock Exchange. The decision comes after the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture rejected an application for re-licensing of futures contracts for rice due to low volumes, said the head of the stock exchange, which is generally considered to be the oldest organized futures exchange in the world. "We did not consider futures contracts for rice to be a pillar of our income. However, we believe that our futures contracts for rice are a useful product for Japanese farmers, so the government's decision not to approve them is a great disappointment for us, "said Ikko Nakacuka, president of the stock exchange, on national television. The wealth of the samurai was once associated with rice. They came with a request to start trading after rice prices fell to a record low. By complying with the request, the shogunate lifted the long-standing ban on futures trade in rice, which at the time was considered a form of gambling. The trading rules and practices developed by the Dojima Stock Exchange were later imitated by many commodity, stock and financial futures exchanges, which began to develop in Europe and elsewhere from the 19th century, according to the stock exchange's website. As in many Asian countries, rice plays an important cultural role in Japanese society and its diet. The Japanese government has imposed high import duties on rice and subsidizes alternative agriculture on old rice fields. The wealth gained during the boom of rice trade supported the rise of one of the major Japanese dynasties. Takata Corp. who made car parts but got into serious trouble due to defective airbags, the Takada family built from the money raised on the rice exchange.