Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, Aug. 22 ― Following outbreaks of deadly African swine fever (ASF) in China in early August, Japan is enhancing its disease surveillance and biosecurity controls at points of entry to the country. The Japanese agriculture ministry has released a poster, which highlights risks of infected pork imports from China in two languages — the Japanese and the Chinese. One warning sign reads: “It is forbidden to bring pork products into Japan from ASF affected regions, even they were sold at duty-free stores.” Another sign says, “Those who visited livestock farms in China are encourage to go to see veterinary quarantine officers at all ports and airports.” The highly contagious … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Sept. 17 ― Japan’s agriculture ministry is helping local farmers to become entrepreneurs seeking export business opportunity as the government aims to boost agricultural product exports as well as farm incomes. The ministry has come out with the Global Farmers Projects (GFP), which offers export assessment for farmers and matchmaking services to make farmers match with traders for exports. The main mission of the GFP is to promote Japan’s farm exports and to identify opportunities not only in large markets but in areas where there are immediate opportunities. The agriculture ministry, with the help of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), Tokyo-based wholesaler Tokyo Seika Co. and others who … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 23 ― Brazil has lifted import restrictions on foods from Fukushima prefecture, which were placed in after the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster in Fukushima. Brazil was the last Latin American country that lifted the restrictions on food products from Fukushima. The move comes after the World Trade Organization (WTO) in March backed a Japanese complaint against South Korea’s import ban on seafood as well as additional testing requirements on agricultural foods. In the wake of the disaster in 2011, like South Korea and other countries, Brazil imposed restrictions on food imports from Fukushima and 11 prefectures: Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Yamagata, Niigata, Nagano, Yamanashi, Saitama, Chiba and … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 19 – Japan’s fruits export to Malaysia is expanding significantly. Notably, the export of Japanese pears and peaches is experiencing a big surge.   As the number of Malaysian travelers grew, a greater number of the Malaysians have become big fans of Japanese fruits and they buy more fruits from Japan even after returning home.  The number of visitors from Malaysia to Japan is expected to rise in the future, and the number of fruits export from Japan is likely to elevate as well. According to the trade statistics released by the Ministry of Finance, Japan’s fruits export to Malaysia in 2017 was 245 tons, up 15% from a … Continue reading →