Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, July 22 — Japan’s Agriculture Minister Yuji Yamamoto discussed with key Chinese officials access to more Japanese rice in the world’s largest rice market, when he made a 3-day visit to China that ended July 21. Yamamoto met China’s Agriculture Vice Minister Yu Xinrong and Zhi Shuping, the head of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), who is in charge of food safety and animal and plant health in China. Yamamoto asked the Chinese officials to approve new more mills and facilities certified to ship to China. So far, Japan has only one rice mill and two warehouses approved by China. He also asked the … Continue reading →

HAKONE, July 14 — Senior trade officials from the 11 signatories of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have wrapped up a two-day meeting that ended July 13 in Hakone, a lake resort near Tokyo, producing no progress on how to bring the deal into force without the United States. In May, 11 countries agreed to explore how the TPP deal is being implemented without the U.S. They now aim to reach an agreement in November when their leaders will meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Hanoi, Vietnam. At the Hakone meeting, several countries asked to make changes of the deal, in which they had to … Continue reading →

TOKYO, July 15 — Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has outlined government policy principles which include farm support programs to help producers adjust to increased EU agricultural food products entering Japan. The move comes as Tokyo and Brussels reached a political deal on the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) earlier this month. The policy will be elaborated upon in a paper likely to be published in autumn. Chairing the first meeting on July 14 of the new consolidated headquarters that presides over trade policymaking across government agencies, Abe declared: “As a unified team, the government will make comprehensive policy proposals.” The aim of the new headquarters is to facilitate Japan’s … Continue reading →

TOKYO, July 12 — The EU has published an overall picture of the trade deal with Japan after a compromise was reached on increased market access for EU farm products in exchange for Japanese autos. By contrast, Tokyo has no plan to disclose its view, with government officials saying “it’s because the draft has yet to be finalized.” Japan’s opposition parties, including the Democratic Party, say they will demand from the government the same level of disclosure as the EU. The European Commission posted on its website a document, titled Key elements of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, dated on July 6, the day of the announcement made by both … Continue reading →