Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, Oct. 15 ― Japanese wagyu beef exports to Taiwan are recording a rapid growth in the past 12 months after the neighboring Asian country lifted 16-year bans on imports of the meat from Japan in September 2017. Taiwan’s appetite for Japanese beef collapsed following the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, in Japan in 2001. Shipments of Japanese beef exports to Taiwan from September 2017 to August 2018 totaled 616 metric tons, with export value topping 4.1 billion yen, data from the finance ministry showed. That was 30 times higher in volume than the pre-BSE levels. Exports of Japanese beef to Taiwan stood at 19 … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 17 ― Japan’s Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the United States, known as TPP-11, will likely come into force as early as January 2019. “The TPP-11 should take effect soon as six countries are set to complete their domestic ratification processes in November,” Motegi said at a Oct. 16 press conference, after meeting ambassadors from the 10 countries in Tokyo. The minister expects early ratification by mid-November, when the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit takes place in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The TPP-11 trade pact will enter into force 60 days after six of the remaining 11 countries of the TPP … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 13 ― The Japanese government has unveiled a plan to accept more foreign blue-collar workers in April next year to tackle the labor shortage in agriculture and some other industries in the face of the country’s aging population. This is a drastic move for Japan, which is known for its strict immigration rules. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a cabinet meeting on Oct. 12 to outline the draft legislation. Under the draft, foreign nationals with skills in sectors identified as facing labor shortage will be granted a new visa status. The new visa status has two different types of work permit. Type One will allows foreign workers with … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 14 ― Japan’s exports of apples in 2017 climbed 20 percent in volume year over year, representing the second-largest on record, as traders have been trying to reach new markets such as Southeast Asia. Fresh apple exports from September 2017 to August 2018 reached 33,150 metric tons, but not as much as the 36,304 metric tons achieved in the record year 2015, according to data from the finance ministry. Apples, in fact, have become a star on the Japanese fresh fruit exporting stage, as Taiwanese and Chinese consumers have enjoyed the big-size fruit as the Lunar New Year’s gifts. The increases slowed only when Japan had a short … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 12 ― Japan’s food exports rose for the sixth consecutive month in August, thanks to largely to appetite for wagyu beef and fruits in neighboring Asian countries, official data has showed. But the data also showed the export growth of some agricultural products such as rice and Japanese green tea slowed on sluggish demand. Growers need to tap into middle-class households, not only wealthy consumers, experts said. Total shipments of agriculture products, processed foods and seafood soared 14% to 68.8 billion yen in August, which was 8.3 billion yen higher in the same month a year earlier, according to the agriculture ministry. The primary agricultural products, which constitute … Continue reading →