Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

“No price war!” Japanese winemakers say removing tariffs on European wines will harm agricultural industry and tourism in Nagano Prefecture

NAGANO, June 24 —  The Japan-Europe EPA talks regarding a plan to cut tariffs on European wine have emerged, raising tensions in wine producing regions in Japan. “Authentic” wines from Europe with high brand power inevitably compete with Japanese wines price wise, and an increase in European wine import may shave the demand for domestically-made alcoholic beverages such as Japanese sake and shochu (locally-distilled spirits) as well in the country with the nation drinking increasingly less alcohol. Japanese wine producers have been placing extremely high expectations on the role of Japanese wines in the development of the sixth industrialization for an increase in agricultural income. The domestic wines are already … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Comments Off on “No price war!” Japanese winemakers say removing tariffs on European wines will harm agricultural industry and tourism in Nagano Prefecture

Japan’ small and family farms are disappearing, survey shows

TOKYO, July 3 — Small-scale and family farms are rapidly disappearing in Japan due to the rising number of aging farmers, while fewer young people opt for farming careers, a survey by the agriculture ministry shows. Farm numbers fell 4.6% to 1.26 million farms in 2017 from a year earlier and overall family farms recorded a decline, down 4.8% to 1.22 million. However, the number of corporate farms grew 5% to 22,000. In the last five years, their number has jumped 55%, reinforcing the trend of bigger and fewer farms through the government’s structural reform program. The survey also showed the size structures of farms are changing. Smaller holdings of … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Japan’ small and family farms are disappearing, survey shows

Japan declares itself free of avian flu; surveillance to continue

TOKYO, June 29 — Japan has declared itself free of highly contagious avian flu as of June 28 and notified the Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Avian flu is a rapidly spreading viral disease that can infect many types of birds. Japan’s agriculture ministry will accelerate talks with the countries to ask them to lift a trade ban they imposed on imports of Japanese poultry products from the start of the outbreak. Between last November and March this year, the avian flu virus struck 12 farms in 9 prefectures: Aomori, Niigata, Hokkaido, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Gifu, Saga, Miyagi, Chiba. The government took various measures to contain the avian flu … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Japan declares itself free of avian flu; surveillance to continue

Japanese pork producers fear the impact of market liberalization under Japan-EU trade accord

KAGOSHIMA, June 26 – With Japan and European Union nearing agreement on a free trade deal, pork producers are increasingly worried about their future. Even production areas of quality pork brands are losing competitiveness in recent years, due to the continuing aftermath of disease outbreaks. Liberalization of the domestic pork market to EU with many pork exporting countries could force more pork producers in Japan to give up their business. Farmers are also concerned over the government’s failure to share information, and call on the government to ensure a stable environment for them to continue business. In the city of Kanoya in Kagoshima Prefecture, known as the nation’s major pork … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Comments Off on Japanese pork producers fear the impact of market liberalization under Japan-EU trade accord

【News】Japanese strawberry varieties taken to South Korea without permission, causing estimated losses of 22 billion yen (June 21, 2017)

Japan’s strawberry varieties have recently been taken to South Korea without permission, taking away domestic producers’ export opportunities and causing maximum losses of 22 billion yen in the last five years, an estimate by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Ministry has revealed. The ministry is calling for the need to register domestically-developed varieties abroad, expressing concern over the more-than-expected adverse impact on domestic production. According to the ministry, more than 90 percent of strawberries cultivated in South Korea are varieties created based on Japanese varieties. Japanese strawberries such as Tochiotome grown in Tochigi Prefecture and Red Pearl and Akihime developed by Japanese farmers were taken to South Korea without permission, … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on 【News】Japanese strawberry varieties taken to South Korea without permission, causing estimated losses of 22 billion yen (June 21, 2017)