TOKYO, Nov. 24 ― Japan has set a target by 2027 to get more than half of Southeast Asian members to accede to the 1991 revision of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention. Japan has been pushing the neighboring countries to build an intellectual property system that protects the rights of the breeder of each new plant variety and seed protection, as it aims to boost agricultural exports in the Asian markets. UPOV has 75 members, including Japan and China, which have introduced the system based on the convention. Among the 10 ASEAN members, only two — namely Vietnam and Singapore, have ratified … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Nov. 24 ― Japan’s food exports rose for the seventh consecutive month in September, thanks to largely to appetite for wagyu beef and fruits in neighboring Asian countries, official data has showed. Total shipments of agriculture products, processed foods and seafood soared 14% to 79.2 billion yen in September from a year earlier, according to the agriculture ministry. The primary agricultural products, which constitute half of total agricultural exports, increased 14% to 48.7 billion yen. Among those products, wagyu beef rose 18 to 2 billion yen, partly due to a rapid growth in Taiwan after the neighboring Asian country lifted 16-year bans on imports of the meat from Japan … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Nov. 21 ― In the wake of an outbreak of classical swine fever, also known as hog cholera, in domestic pigs in central Japan, the agriculture ministry has been calling on local governments to increase surveillance and preventative measures of the infectious disease. On Sept. 9, the ministry reported a case of classical swine fever at a farm in Gifu prefecture for the first time in 26 years. The remaining 610 pigs were culled to contain the outbreak and depopulation of the farm was completed. As a result, Japan suspended exports of pork and other pork products. Classical swine fever occurs among pigs and wild boar and is not … Continue reading →

NEW YORK, Dec. 19 – The United Nations General Assembly adopted on Dec. 18 Japan time the Declaration for the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas which recognizes and protects the rights of small-scale and family farmers. The declaration, which was passed with 121 votes in favor, aims to encourage all U.N. member nations to better protect rights of farmers and allow them to attain an adequate standard of living, as well as providing support to unions and cooperatives for such people. As in November when the declaration was up for voting at the U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee, Japan abstained. The declaration recognizes the importance … Continue reading →