Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, Jan. 3 – A post-Brexit trade agreement between Japan and the United Kingdom came into force on Jan. 1, providing the same level of tariffs on farm produce as the existing trade pact between Japan and the European Union. No new import quotas were set for the U.K. on 25 items that currently benefit from reduced tariffs under the Japan-EU deal. But for 10 of the 25 products, including soft cheeses such as blue cheese and wheat-related food preparations, Britain will be able to use any low-tariff quota left over by the EU. As for agricultural products exported from Japan, the U.K. abolished tariffs on major items including beef … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 3 – A bill aimed at protecting Japanese-developed fruit and vegetable varieties from being taken abroad is passed in the Upper House of Japan’s parliament on Dec. 2. The revised seed and seedling protection law, expected to take effect in April next year, will allow plant breeders to limit areas where their varieties can be grown to places within the country or designated prefectures. Another revision to the law, which will take effect in April 2022, will introduce a permission system for the use of seeds that domestic farmers collect from registered varieties they harvest for next season’s planting. Currently, it is not illegal to take seeds and … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 5 – The Upper House of Japan’s parliament ratified the Japan-U.K. trade agreement on Dec. 4, paving the way for the deal to take effect on Jan. 1 if it is ratified in Britain smoothly. The bilateral economic partnership agreement “will pose no additional impact on our nation’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry,” agriculture minister Kotaro Nogami said during Diet deliberations. Tariff cuts and reductions on British farm produce are kept at the same level as under the deal between Japan and the European Union, but no new import quotas will be set for Britain. For 10 items, including soft cheeses such as blue cheese, Britain will be … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Nov. 28 – The number of people in Japan whose main occupation is farming totaled 1.361 million as of Feb. 1, declining 396,000, or 22.5 percent, from five years ago, according to the 2020 Census of Agriculture and Forestry released on Nov. 27. The rate of drop was the biggest since 2005 when comparable data became available, largely reflecting the aging of the farming population. Meanwhile, the cultivated acreage per farm topped 3 hectares for the first time, indicating growth in farm size. The number of people mainly engaging in agriculture have been decreasing constantly, with the pace of decline accelerating. The agriculture ministry attributes the decline to the … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Nov. 16 – Fifteen Asia-Pacific nations including Japan, China, South Korea and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations held an online summit meeting on Nov. 15, concluding negotiations and signing the Regional Economic Partnership trade deal. Japan will maintain its current tariffs on five agricultural products it regards as domestically important – rice, wheat, beef and pork, dairy products and sugar – as well as chicken and poultry products. The government sees the latest pact would not have any particular impact on the domestic agricultural sector, since less items would be subject to tariff elimination compared to the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement. RCEP is an … Continue reading →