'Abenomics' in the rice paddy

Many small farmers in Niigata plant their fields the same way their ancestors did - by hand. But they worry that the free-trade policies of Shinzo Abe, the prime minister, are a threat to their way of life. The FT's Jonathan Soble visits the rural province north-west of Tokyo to find out what farmers – including one who moonlights as a minister in Mr Abe's government – think of the premier's reform drive.