Nirmal Singh Ranswal, a class XII passout from Champawat, Uttarakhand, steps out on the field with a measuring tape. On this particular morning, he needs to sow cabbage; between every two saplings, he must leave a precise gap of 30cm. For, that is the sowing pattern followed in large swathes of Ichihara located in Chiba prefecture in Japan, where he is employed. With over 20% of the country's population...