Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, Nov. 15 – Japanese sweet potato variety Beniharuka is cultivated and distributed widely in South Korea without permission, it has been learned. The variety already accounts for 40 percent of sweet potato cultivation area in South Korea, prompting many in Japan to express concern over South Korean-grown sweet potatoes getting in the way of Japanese products in the global market, as Beniharuka is regarded as one of the Japanese agricultural products with high export potential. It appears that South Korean farmers who visited a sweet potato growing region in Japan took back Beniharuka seed potatoes without permission. Cultivation of Beniharuka began in Haenam in South Korea’s South Jeolla province … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 27 – Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga made his first policy speech at the Diet on Oct. 26, expressing eagerness to revitalize rural areas and stimulate the Japanese economy by boosting tourism and agricultural reform. In order to increase income and inflow of people in regional areas, he said he will continue promoting exports of agricultural products and reforming the farm sector, the policies which he had been focusing on as chief cabinet secretary. But he failed to offer new policies regarding agriculture. In his speech given at the extraordinary Diet session which was convened on the day, Suga reiterated the fact that he was born in a farm … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 24 – Japan and Britain signed an economic partnership agreement on Oct. 23, with an aim to implement it on Jan. 1 next year following approval of the two nations’ parliaments. The bilateral agreement largely replicates the existing economic partnership agreement between Japan and the European Union regarding tariff cuts and reductions for farm produce, but no new import quotas will be set for Britain. British International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, who was visiting Tokyo, attended a signing ceremony along with Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi. “We want to make this agreement a foundation to further strengthen and develop the Japan-Britain relationship,” Motegi said at a joint news conference … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 19 – Japan’s wood self-sufficiency rate increased for nine years in a row. According to the data released by the Forestry Agency of Japan, the country’s wood self-sufficiency rate rose 1.2 percentage points from the previous year to 37.8% in 2019. The rate improved 11.5 points in the past nine years. The agency said the improvement is attributable to the stable supply of domestic timber from the forests created after the war and its prices, which are less fluctuant than imported wood. Wood self-sufficiency rate is a ratio of domestic timber production to the total timber demand in the country. It was 26.3% in 2010. The ratio was … Continue reading →