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New National Forest Plan Emphasizes
Environmental Protection On October 21 the
Cabinet approved the government's new National
Forest Plan, which emphasizes
the protection of Japan's forests and, with
environmental conservation in mind,
calls for the creation of mixed forests rather
than monoculture forests of sugi [Japanese
cedar] or hinoki
[Japanese cypress]. The new Plan covers
standards on forest management, area of afforestation,
etc. for the 15-year period starting in April
2004. It divides forests into
three categories, according to purpose: "forests
for soil and water
conservation", whose purpose is headwater
conservation and the prevention
of natural disasters, "forests for human
and forest coexistence"
whose purpose is to help purify the atmosphere,
etc., and "forests for the
sustainable use of natural resources"
whose purpose is to produce lumber,
and sets out forest management standards
for each category. It also expands
elements covering "protection forest"
and the protection of forests
in mountain management projects. The new Plan proposes
the reduction of the area of "even-aged
plantation forest" where it
is common practice to fell large tracts at
once. It proposes that MAFF to Revise Basic Plan for Food,
Agriculture and Rural Areas At a press conference
following the Cabinet meeting on November
11, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries Yoshiyuki Kamei revealed that
he plans to call a meeting of the
Council on Food, Agriculture and Rural Area
Policies on December 9 and seek its
opinion regarding the revision of the Basic
Plan for Food, Agriculture and
Rural Areas. The Council's Planning Committee
will start discussing specific
changes to the Basic Plan in the New Year. The Basic Plan sets out a specific plan for the implementation
of the policies set
out under the Basic Law on Food, Agriculture
and Rural Areas, and is
revised every five years. The current plan, approved by the
Cabinet in March 2000, calls for At the end of August
this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF) set about
revising the Basic Plan, and is considering
(i) a
switch to a system of cross-product sector
support for the core farmers who
support area agriculture, including the possibility
of direct payments, (ii)
the reform of systems relating to core farmers
and farmland and (iii) the
further promotion of environmental protection
measures and measures to protect
farmland, water and other local resources. At the same press
conference, Mr. Kamei said he intended to
draw up a basic plan for the further
reform of agricultural policy with a view
to ensuring that Japan's agriculture
and rural areas satisfy the expectations
[of the Japanese people] by making it
possible to secure the core farmers, farmland
and water resources necessary to
assure food safety and peace of mind and
to protect the natural beauty of the
countryside. MHLW to Ban Foods Made With Cattle Spines
from BSE-Affected Countries On November 14, a
specialist subcommittee of the Ministry of
Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
Pharmaceutical Affairs and Food Sanitation
Council decided, as a countermeasure
against BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
to ban the manufacture of food
made using bones from cattle spines from
all BSE-affected countries, including
Until now, MHLW
has designated meat from cattle heads (excluding
the tongue and cheeks), the
spinal cord and the ileum as "specified
risk parts" (i.e. parts that
present a risk of BSE infection), on the
grounds that they are the parts where
abnormal prions (the protein that is the pathogen in
BSE) accumulate, and has required the meat
industry to remove these parts when
cattle are butchered. However, in
September 2002, the Office International
des Epizooties (the world organization
for animal health) revised its regulations,
adding spines to the list of cattle
parts "unsuitable for human consumption"
on the grounds that abnormal prions accumulate in the organs known as "dorsal
root ganglia", which are located in
or close to the spine. MHLW thereupon
consulted the Cabinet Office Food Safety
Commission, whose advice was that
cattle spines "present the same risk
as the spinal cord, which is a
specified risk part". More than a year
has passed between the identification of
the risk and the actual ban, but MHLW
maintains that the amount of abnormal prions
accumulating in the ganglia is extremely
small and that there is no problem
since all animals slaughtered during this
period have been tested for BSE and
infected cattle have not been used as raw
material. The ban is due to
come into effect in mid-February 2004, once
the specialist subcommittee has
debated the issues involved, but MHLW expressed
the view that it would be
desirable for the meat industry to refrain
from using cattle spines even before
the ban is imposed. The ban will not apply
to cattle from MAFF Establishes "FTA
Headquarters" to Work Out Negotiation Strategy On November 14, the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(MAFF) established and convened
the first meeting of an "FTA Headquarters"
headed by Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshiyuki
Kamei to handle the negotiation
of free trade agreements (FTAs), a number of which
have been tabled. Besides discussing schedules
for future negotiations, etc.,
the new body will incorporate a separate
team to handle negotiations with each
of the five countries and regions ( In future, the FTA
Headquarters will be responsible for deciding
negotiation strategy at a general
level, and the five country or regional teams
— for At the meeting, Mr.
Kamei emphasized that the FTA Headquarters
would take due account of the fact
that the scope and degree of relevance to
Japanese agriculture, forestry and
fisheries and the status of trading differs
from country to country, and would
seek to collect and analyze as wide a range
of information as possible on
conditions in each of the countries concerned,
etc., and take a strategic
approach to the negotiations. He also underlined
the importance of collecting
and analyzing information with a view to
facilitating collaboration between
bureaus within the Ministry in future negotiations. Schedule of FTA-related Negotiations
[Return] MAFF to Launch Nationwide Investigation
of Koi Herpes Infection Routes On November 14, the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(MAFF) convened the second
meeting of a study group made up of technical
experts formed after the death of
large numbers of koi
[Japanese carp] infected with KHV (koi herpes virus), at which it was decided to
conduct a
nationwide investigation with a view to establishing
the route of infection,
etc. As the infection has been detected among
wild as well as farmed carp,
increasing the probability that there is
more than one route of infection, MAFF
will conduct an exhaustive investigation
of The investigation will
first divide the rivers and water systems
of every municipality in Among other points,
the interviews will aim to identify any links
with water basins where there has
been an outbreak of KHV, and any clinical
anomalies. Where KHV is suspected,
specimens will be subjected to genetic testing
to confirm the presence or
absence of infection. To date, KHV infection
has been confirmed in 12 prefectures, among
them US to Reopen Borders to Canadian Calves;
On October 31, the
United States Department of Agriculture revealed
it had decided to lift the ban
on imports of calves bred in Under the proposed
conditions for the lifting of the ban published
by the Department of
Agriculture, the However, the lifting
of the import ban means that if a young animal
from Canada is slaughtered for
meat after being fattened in the United States,
there is a significant risk
that it will be exported to Japan as American
beef. A Japanese government
official said, "The only option is to
ask the MAFF to Ask On November 1, the
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
(MAFF) decided to ask the
United States to take steps to ensure that
beef from Canada, which is facing an
outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy),
from being re-exported to
Japan. The move follows America's decision
to reopen its borders to imports of
calves born in Canada early in 2004. Specifically,
Difficulties Expected in FTA Talks as At vice
ministerial talks between Japan and Mexico
held in Los Angeles on November 5,
after negotiations over the proposed FTA
(free trade agreement) collapsed in
mid-October, Mexican officials put forward
new proposals for the liberalization
of trade in farm products, it was revealed
on November 6. The new proposals,
which go far beyond those tabled during the
previous round of negotiations,
cover a total of five products including
beef, oranges, orange juice, and
chicken as well as pork, in respect of which
Mexico has requested a new
tariff-free quota. Japan insisted that conditions
on pork and beef had already
been agreed, but Mexico is pressing for talks
to go back to square one and
progress is expected to be difficult. The negotiators
were aiming to strike a deal by the time
of the summit talks held on October
16, when United Mexican States President
Vicente Fox visited Japan, but while
Japan proposed a tariff-free quota of 5,000
tons on orange juice, Mexico
pressed for 10,000 tons, and agreement could
not be reached. The prospect was
that agreement would be reached on the setting
of a new low-tariff quota of
approximately 80,000 tons that would relax
the tariffs on high-grade pork over
a certain price, and on the exclusion of
beef and chicken from the FTA. However, at the
vice ministerial talks on November 5, Mexico
raised its demands, proposing,
among other changes, the setting of a new
tariff-free or low tariff quota of
120,000 tons on pork, the abolition of tariffs
on orange juice and oranges, and
the setting of new tariff-free quotas of
40,000 tons on beef and 30,000 tons on
chicken. An official of the Ministry of Trade,
Economy and Industry said, "We cannot
accept these levels." 3 Greatest Areas of Consumer Concern are
Agricultural Chemicals, Imported Foods and
Additives In terms of food
safety, the first cause for concern is agricultural
chemicals. — Around 70% of
respondents to a monitor survey conducted
by the Cabinet Office's Food Safety
Commission among consumers and food producers
and manufacturers took this view. The most common
issue concern was "agricultural chemicals",
cited by 68% of
respondents, followed by "imported foods"
(66%),
"additives" (64%) and "environmental
hormones and other
contaminants" (61%). The reasons for
citing "imported foods"
were concern over agricultural chemical residues
or food additives. Respondents
were concerned over production conditions
in other countries and the
effectiveness of "water's edge"
inspection systems. A number of
respondents cited specific fears over genetically
modified soybeans, the
pathogenic colibacillus O-157 and meat-and-bone meal. The degree of
awareness differed according to respondent
category. Consumers expressed a high
level of concern over carcinogenicity and
were most concerned over "additives".
The concern most commonly cited by food producers
was
"contaminants", while researchers
and medical professionals cited
"imported foods". When asked where
improvements were required in order to assure
food safety, 80% of monitors
cited "the production stage" (cultivation
management, control of
agricultural chemical spraying, etc.), while
59% cited "the
manufacturing/processing stage". Only
a few respondents cited
"sales" or "the catering stage",
and the further up the
distribution chain, away from the table,
the stronger the demand for change. Responses to the
survey were received from 455 of the food
safety monitors recruited by the Food
Safety Commission. CSTP Prioritizes Analysis of Rice Genome
Functions, Detection of Agricultural Chemical
Residues On October 17,
the government's Council for Science and
Technology Policy (CSTP) assigned an
order of priority to the science and technology-related
measures included in
the outline budget requests for fiscal 2004
presented by government ministries.
High priority is accorded to the elucidation
of the functions of the rice
genome and the development of technology
for the detection of agricultural
chemical residues. The CSTP will present
its findings to the Ministry of
Finance. The CSTP has
assigned four levels of priority to the proposed
measures: S, A, B and C, in
descending order. In the field of agriculture,
priority level S has been given
to two Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF) projects: "Elucidation
of the functions of key genes relating to
physical
characteristics in the rice genome",
which will investigate the
functionality of rice and its adaptability
to environmental conditions at the
genetic level, and "Advancement of research
in agriculture, forestry and
fisheries through the use of advanced technology",
which will involve
experimental research on the production site. In the field of
food, priority level A was assigned to a
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare
(MHLW) project entitled "Research for
the enhancement of food
safety", which will research methods
of evaluating technology for the
detection of prions, said to be the pathogen in BSE
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and agricultural
chemical residues, and a
MAFF project entitled "General research
on food safety and
functionality", which will involve studies
on risk control in relation to
food safety, the elucidation of functionality,
etc. The Livestock
Research Division of the Yamagata Prefectural
Agricultural Research and Study Center at
Shinjo
(Yamagata Prefecture) has developed a new
technology for cell sampling that
allows the sexing of cattle embryos at the
fertilized ovum stage without
causing significant damage to cells. The
Center has successfully used this
technique in breeding calves. Until now,
the method used involved a biopsy, but
the resulting damage was severe and it was
difficult to freeze the cell sample
for storage. The new method
involves making an incision on the surface
of fertilized ovum cells and
cultivation over one or two days. The balloon
shaped growth that emerges from
the incision is then removed for testing. The new method
causes little cellular damage and allows
freezing for storage. For this reason,
if it is decided to transfer the remaining
portion after sampling to a
surrogate mother, it is possible to choose
a time when the mother is able to
conceive, thereby enhancing production efficiency.
The high accuracy of the DNA
information collected has also made it possible
to determine the presence or
absence of genetic diseases that could not
previously be detected. MAFF to Extend Requirements for Processed
Food Labeling to Show Country of Origin of
Raw Materials On November 12,
the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) revealed that it has
decided to significantly extend the range
of processed foods whose labeling it
requires to show the country of origin of raw
materials used in their preparation. MAFF
proposes to extend the requirement to
four categories of processed foods: (i) dried foods
(e.g. kiriboshi daikon [dried
strips of giant radish]), (ii) salted foods
(e.g. salted salmon), (iii) foods
incorporating liquid seasonings (e.g. ajitsuke gyu-karubi niku [seasoned
ox rib eye]), and (iv) processed foods consisting
of a mixture of fresh foods (mixed chopped
vegetables, etc.). MAFF plans to
consult with food industry organizations
around Japan and finalize the list of
product to which the requirement will apply
by the end of the fiscal year,
aiming to include it in the range of products
for which country of origin of
raw materials must be displayed under the
JAS law from the summer of 2004. Until now, MAFF
has specified eight processed foods whose
labeling must show the country of
origin of raw materials, including tsukemono [Japanese style pickles] and dried wakame seaweed.
However, as the system was based on the specification
of individual items, it
was criticized as being too slow in operation.
Establishing a given standard
and listing all the foods to which it applies
will allow MAFF to specify foods
in a shorter space of time. MAFF has already
drawn up a list of conditions (e.g. at least
50% to consist of a single raw
material, be subjected to a low degree of
processing, etc.) and said it plans
to apply the requirement to all foods that
meet these conditions. The basic
principle is that the country of origin of
the raw material should have a
significant impact on the quality of the
final product, as in (i) foods that have undergone a low degree
of processing,
(ii) foods for which the price of raw materials
varies according to country of
origin and (iii) foods whose raw materials
are procured both in Japan and
overseas. In addition to these conditions,
the requirement is limited to foods
at least 50% of which is made from a single
raw material. Since there is
strong demand for labeling to show country
of origin of raw materials in
respect of a total of nine foods subjected
to a greater degree of processing
(including tofu [bean curd], natto [fermented
soybeans] and konyaku
[jelly made from root of devil's tongue])
and therefore not covered by the
requirement, MAFF says it plans to hold hearings
and consider whether or not to
include these foods. Foods for Which Display of Country Origin
of Raw Materials is to be Required
[Return]
World Attention Focused on "Life-Giving"
Power of Rice:
International Year of Rice The United
Nations has formally declared that 2004 will
be known as "International Year
of Rice", with the theme "Rice
is Life". This is the second
International Year of Rice, the first having
been 1966. Approximately 2 billion
tons of cereal crops are grown worldwide
each year, of which rice, alongside
maize and wheat, is one of the most important.
Unlike, other cereal crops,
however, rice gets special treatment. This
may be because the world recognizes
the extraordinary power of rice to support
a wide range of "life". At
any rate, 2004 is a year in which Japan,
where rice is part of the national
lifestyle, should take fresh recognition
of its importance, from the roots up. The first aspect
of rice which distinguishes it from other
cereals is that most of the world's
rice is produced by small farmers. While
it is not uncommon for maize and wheat
to be grown by large-scale farming businesses,
as much as 80% of the world rice
crop is grown by small farmers. Production
per farm in China, which is the
world's largest producers of rice, is lower
than in Japan. The United States
and Australia, where rice is sometimes grown
on a similar scale to maize, are
exceptional cases. One reason that
rice farming is conducted on a small scale
is because it depends to so great an
extent on water. Rice farmers need to build
levees to hold water and must control
the water supply at each stage of the growing
process. Things are not as easy
as with maize or wheat, which can be grown
on a large scale with the help of
machinery. Except where there has been large-scale
reshaping of plots and
extensive irrigation and drainage systems
have been created, rice is a crop
whose production is largely supported by
the painstaking manual labor of
small farmers. Rice is an essential part
of the livelihood of around one
billion small farmers around the world. To
these farmers, it is "Life". A second reason
is that the paddy fields that are the basic
infrastructure of rice production
help to protect local biodiversity by providing
a home to a range of wildlife.
In a speech at the United Nations last week,
Dr. Jacques Diouf,
Director-General of the FAO (Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations) stressed that "Rice systems
support a wide variety of plants and
animals, which also help supplement rural
diets and incomes." In maize and
wheat production, modern farming methods
are the rule: thousands or tens of
thousands of hectares of farmland are covered
with a single variety and all
weeds, small animals and other undesirable
influences on the crop are
eradicated. By contrast, almost every rice
paddy also yields side-products such
as small fish, freshwater shrimps and pond
snails, and supports dragonflies,
glow-worms and other wildlife that make the
heart glad. Paddy fields are truly
a source of "Life". A third reason is
the cultural associations of rice. East or
West, whatever the crop, the joy of
the harvest is the same, and agriculture
has had a profound effect on local
traditions and culture. However, as Mr. Diouf pointed
out in his speech at the United Nations,
the relationship between rice and
human civilization is a special one. The
large number of farmers growing rice
and the fact that production takes place
within a complex ecosystem has led to
a great inter-regional diversity of festivals,
religions and table cultures.
Rice is a "Life" that has a huge
impact on the way we live and the
way we think. Thus, rice and
paddy fields are multifunctional. Farmers
should realize this and have great
confidence in themselves. In 2004, the world
will be celebrating the
International Year of Rice, under the motto
"Rice is Life". We should
not only think how to improve yield and taste
count, but should make more of
the fact that rice supports the "Life"
of the world. "Rice is a
global crop grown on every continent except
Antarctica" (FAO
Director-General Jacques Diouf). We should take this
opportunity to promote exchange with farmers
from other countries. (from an editorial in the November 6, 2003 issue
of the Nihon Nogyo Shimbun) |