Category Archives: Farm Policy

TOKYO, Feb. 21 – Cases of illegal imports of meat products such as sausages and ham by Chinese travelers to Japan totaled 42,280 in 2018, increasing 1.5 times in three years to mark the largest figure in the last decade, according to the agriculture ministry statistics. Because an African swine fever outbreak has recently been reported in China and there is a fear that the virus could spread through pork products, the ministry has been calling on visitors to follow the rules that ban travelers from bringing in meat products without inspection. The cases of such products illegally entering the country, however, have not declined. The ministry estimates that around … Continue reading →

NIIGATA, Feb. 18 ― Japan is stepping up efforts to host a meeting of G20 agriculture ministers on May 11 and 12 in Niigata, Niigata prefecture. Agriculture Minister Takamori Yoshikawa made a visit on Feb. 17 to the G20 conference site in Niigata and exchanged views with Niigata Governor Hideyo Hanazumi and Niigata Mayor Yaichi Nakahara. During the G20 agriculture ministers’ meeting, Niigata prefecture is expected to demonstrate its automated farm systems such as unmanned tractors. Osaka will host the G20 summit in June.

TOKYO, Feb. 28 ― Japan’s total beef imports jumped 42 percent in January, one month after the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) without the U.S., also known as TPP-11, began, illustrating meat exporters enjoy the landmark trade deal in the Japanese market. According to the finance ministry, beef imports amounted to 50,574 metric tons in January, compared with 35,631 metric tons in the same month a year earlier. The January figure was the highest month in the past 10 years. “It is unusual to break the 50,000 ton of barrier in January, a month that is not particularly the period for strong demand of beef in Japan,” said an official from a … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 14 ― Japan has found African swine fever virus in pork products that were carried into two airports by visitors coming from Beijing and Tsingtao in January, highlighting growing concerns over the spread of the highly contagious disease in Asia. The Japanese agriculture ministry said that the pork products were collected from visitors arriving at Narita Airport on Jan. 24 and Fukuoka Airport, southern Japan, on Jan. 27. Genetic testing at an animal quarantine station detected the disease virus in samples of the products on Feb. 7, according to the ministry. They became No. 9 and No. 10 cases where the African swine fever virus were found in … Continue reading →