Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

TOKYO, Dec. 21 — Cool Japan Fund, a government-backed investor, has targeted Southeast Asia and is betting the region’s rapidly growing middle class can boost exports of Japanese agricultural products through outlet openings. The Cool Japan Fund said at a Dec. 20 press conference that it will provide up to 500 million yen in funding, aimed at supporting Japanese food operators opening 100 outlets in the next five years in the Southeast Asia region. “We hope this business will help expand exports of Japanese agricultural products,” explained an official from Cool Japan Fund. The Cool Japan Fund, set up in 2013, is the centerpiece of the government’s “Cool Japan” strategy. … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 27 — Japan’s agricultural output exceeded a landmark 9 trillion yen in 2016 for the first time in 16 years, data from the agriculture ministry has shown. Improved prices of table rice were a major factor affecting the nation’s agriculture production, which rose by 4.6% year-on-year to 9.2 trillion yen in 2016, according to the ministry. The rise is also attributed to unfavorable weather conditions, which reduced supplies of vegetables and fresh fruits and helped to boost prices, the ministry noted. The number of farmers in Japan has steadily shrunk in recent times, as they get older and scramble to consolidate. That has impacted the nation’s agricultural production … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 19 — Japan is considering a stricter labeling policy for non-genetically modified organisms (GMO) to allow consumers to make the right choice. A panel of experts that included food makers and consumer protection groups held a seventh round of talks on Dec. 18 for the Consumer Affairs Agency to review GMO policy. Under the 2001 GMO labeling law, Japan requires mandatory labels for eight crops containing GMO, such as soybeans and corn, and soy- and corn-based products. Such products include tofu, natto, soymilk, miso, corn starch and popcorn. But at the same time, Japan allows a five percent tolerance for GMO content in food. In other words, if … Continue reading →

[By Yasushi Tange, visiting researcher at Norinchukin Research Institute] Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate marked 38 percent on a calorie basis in fiscal 2016, down 1 percentage point from a year before, posting a year-on-year drop for the first time in six years. The figure was the second-lowest level ever after 37 percent recorded in fiscal 1993, when the country suffered a serious rice shortage following bad weather. The self-sufficiency rate, which was 73 percent in fiscal 1965, has been on a declining trend since then. Some criticize that an obsession with food sufficiency figures may be off the mark, citing such reasons as the fact that fruit and vegetables, although … Continue reading →