Agriculture in the United Kingdom fund the purchase as a mortgage. The Council could not refuse without the Minister of Agriculture's permission. In 1919 the Board of Agriculture and the Ministry of Food were merged to form the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, which later became the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). MAFF was in turn the predecessor of DEFRA. Before the Second World War started, Britain imported 55 million tons of food a year. By the end of 1939, this had dropped to 12 million, and food rationing was introduced at the start of 1940. It did not completely end until July
Food in the Occupation of Japan mostly spared from hunger, since they produced their own food. However, most Japanese citizens bought food from the markets, which were contingent on the rationing system. In response, the Japanese government encouraged families to vacate cities for better conditions in the countryside. Parents sent their children to live with relatives. About 1,303,200 children were evacuated, 857,000 of which went to live with family, while the other 446,200 were taken in by Buddhist temples, inns, and local families. Nonetheless, relocation was minimally effective, since the children still received inadequate rations in the countryside. Since these rations were continuously reduced, the food