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New
Vice-Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries Appointed
Policy
Headquarters to Speed Agricultural Reform;
Calls for Support Measures to Focus
on "Professional Farmers" On November 21, the government convened a
meeting of the
Headquarters for the Promotion of Policies
on Food, Agriculture and Rural
Areas, at the Prime Minister's official residence.
The Headquarters, whose
membership includes all Cabinet Ministers,
agreed that in line with the policy
of the Koizumi Administration, which is championing
structural reform, the
government should unite in pursuing reform
in the field of agriculture. The
Headquarters is to set out directions for
reform that will center on a
concentration of policy measures and resources
on the fostering of
"professional farmers" who will
play a central role in agriculture in
Japan, a review of systems relating to core
farmers and farmland with a view to
encouraging a wide range of entities, including
ordinary limited liability
companies, to participate in agriculture,
and the establishment of
environmental protection measures. Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi,
who leads the Headquarters, told the meeting
that the government must unite in
the pursuit of agricultural policies that
emphasized consumer interests,
saying, "We must support capable and
motivated farmers and protect the
interests of consumers by ensuring that food
is safe and trustworthy." Mr. Koizumi also told the meeting that, with
a view to
promoting the success of the WTO (World Trade
Organization) agricultural
negotiations and the conclusion of FTAs (free trade
agreements), Japan's agricultural sector
should be weaned of its excessive
reliance on border measures as soon as possible,
and said he would work to
strengthen the competitiveness of Japanese
agriculture to allow it to withstand
further liberalization of trade in agricultural
products. At the
meeting, agricultural policy to date was
positioned as "sailing in convoy
policy", and it was agreed that For
this reason, the Headquarters will consider
replacing the system of
commodity-based support measures for individual
crops such as rice, wheat and
barley with across-the-board measures to
support the entire farming business of
"core" farmers involved in paddy-field
farming and large-scale
dry-field farming. It will also aim to establish
environmental protection
measures that make it possible to maintain
the multi-functionality of
agriculture over an entire area. On the
basis of the Headquarters' reforms, the government
is to review the Basic Plan
for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, which
sets targets for food
self-sufficiency. The government ministries
and agencies concerned will also
collaborate in the pursuit of deregulation
and the devolution of administrative
authority to local governments, and in the
promotion of exchange between urban
and rural areas, food awareness education
and environmental protection. The
new Basic Plan is to be drawn up by March
2005, but reforms that can be
implemented even before that date will be
addressed in turn. The
Headquarters' mission is to facilitate collaboration
between government
ministries and agencies, in the pursuit of
deregulation and the devolution of
administrative authority to local governments
(including the reduction of
central government subsidies) and the promotion
of exchange between urban and
rural areas, food awareness education and
environmental protection, on the
basis of a review by MAFF of the Basic Plan
for Food, Agriculture and Rural
Areas. The Headquarters was established in
April 2000 under the Obuchi Administration. The November 21 meeting
was its
second meeting. Key
Points in the Reform of Agricultural Administration (i) Support measures
focusing on "professional farmers" (ii) A review of the agricultural land system (iii) Establishment of environmental protection
measures (iv) Promotion of
food awareness education (v) Greater promotion of exchange between
cities and
farming, Government
Rice Inventories Set to Fall to 850,000 Tons by
October 2004 On November 27, the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
released its rice supply forecast
for rice years 2003-2005. Owing to the very
poor harvest in 2003 when the rice
crop index fell to 90, among other factors,
it is estimated that government
rice inventories will fall to 850,000 tons,
below the level of 1 million tons
that is considered appropriate. A spokesman
for the MAFF Staple Food Department
said, "If 2004 brings an average crop,
there will be no fear of a
shortage." According to the forecast,
production volume for rice grown in 2003
was 7.63 million tons, less than the 7.834
million tons recorded in 1993, when the crop
suffered record damage from the
cool summer. Demand for rice is
falling year-by-year, and by rice year 2005
is set to fall to 8.57 million
tons, some 210,000 tons down on rice year
2003. Due to the poor crop in 2003, government
inventories have fallen sharply. Carried-over
inventory, which stood at 1.44
million tons at the end of October 2003,
is set to fall as low as 850,000 tons
by the same point in 2004 and 2005. At the end of October 1993,
government inventories were down to 230,000
tons, and Forecast
of the Total Rice Supply and Demand for Rice
Years (RY) 2003-2005
[Return] Proposed
MAFF Regulations Effectively Treat Cattle
Spines as Waste On December 2, following the Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare's designation
of the spinal columns of cattle as
"unsuitable for human consumption"
as a countermeasure against BSE
(bovine spongiform encephalopathy), the Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) published a regulatory policy
proposal, under which the use of
meat-and-bone meal and fats derived from
cattle spines in fertilizers and feeds
is to be prohibited. Cattle spines, which
rendering companies have up to now
accepted, for a fee, along with "ordinary"
cattle bones are
effectively treated as waste and meat packers
will be forced to find their own means
of disposal. MAFF already requires meat packers
and wholesalers to keep cattle spines and
"ordinary" bones strictly
separate during storage and transportation,
e.g. by using containers of
different colors. Under the proposed regulations,
the work and cost of
processing after sorting will also fall on
the person or organization
generating the waste. MAFF is inviting members of the
public to submit their opinions over the
Internet, up to December 16. MAFF will
then revise the relevant ministerial ordinances
and may implement new
regulations as early as February 2004. Japanese,
Norwegian Ministers Confirm Intention to
Cooperate in WTO Agriculture Talks On December 1, Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshiyuki
Kamei, currently in Italy for the
FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization) Conference, met
Norwegian Minister of Agriculture Lars Sponheim for
talks at which it was confirmed that Japan
and Norway would cooperate in the
WTO (World Trade Organization) agriculture
negotiations. The ministers agreed
to cooperate in campaigning against the setting
of an upper limit on tariffs,
which could lead to substantial tariff reductions
on items important to
agriculture in their own countries. At another meeting with EU
Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development
and Fisheries Franz Fischler, during a discussion of the WTO agriculture
negotiations, Mr. Kamei said that although
the clauses relating to the setting
of an upper limit on tariffs in the "3rd draft of the
ministerial declaration" needed revising,
the "3rd draft"
did show a degree of consideration [for items
important to individual
countries] and could be used as a basis for
further discussion. Agriculture
Minister Stresses Need for Flexible Trade
Rules at FAO Conference On December 2, Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshiyuki
Kamei attended a ministerial
round table on "Developments in the
WTO Negotiations and Implications for
Food Security" held at the headquarters
of the FAO (United Nations Food
and Agriculture Organization) in Rome. Mr.
Kamei stressed the need for flexible
trade rules that take account of the multi-functionality
of agriculture,
telling those present at the meeting, "The
way forward in the negotiations
is for member countries to seek the establishment
of flexible trade rules that
take due account of non-trade concerns." Mr. Kamei said that trade alone
could not provide a full solution to food
issues and the problems of hunger and
poverty. He stressed the importance of building
up infrastructure in developing
nations to ensure that the multi-functionality
of agriculture is sustained and
explained In a meeting after the round table,
Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lyle Vanclief told Mr. Kamei that the discovery of young
cattle
infected with BSE in Japan had raised the
level of concern over BSE worldwide,
and said member countries of the Office International
des Epizooties (OIE/World
Organization for Animal Health), including
Japan, should make available as much
information and gather as many scientific
opinions as possible, for use in the
review of the OIE guidelines on the disease. Mr. Kamei said the recent
identification of two cases of BSE in young
cattle showed that the disease had
yet to be fully explained in scientific terms.
He told Mr. Vanclief
that Japanese experts were studying the disease
and that the Japanese
government would continue to cooperate with
the OIE. Mr. Kamei added that it
was thanks to Mr. Vanclief
also mentioned that the Canadian government
had decided to lift the ban on
imports of nashi
[oriental pears] from Agriculture
Minister Meets OIE Director General for Talks
on BSE Minister of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries Yoshiyuki Kamei, currently
visiting In connection with the revision of
international standards on the handling of
BSE, Mr. Kamei told Dr. Vallat that, amidst a high degree of consumer concern,
Japan had decided to test all cattle for
BSE at the slaughterhouse and had
identified two young animals (aged 23 and
21 months respectively) infected with
an atypical form of the disease. In addition
to providing scientific
information of this kind, Mr. Kamei said
Mr. Kamei observed that BSE was a
disease of which many aspects had yet to
be explained in scientific terms. With
regard to the OIE proposal for the revision
of international standards on the
handling of BSE, Mr. Kamei said he believed
it was important that the standards
assure the safety of beef and restore consumer
trust in beef, in Dr. Vallat
replied that the OIE regarded the identification
of atypical forms of BSE and
the discovery of young cattle infected with
BSE in Japan and Italy as an
important issue and for this reason would
be holding a reference laboratory
meeting on December 4, to which it had invited
specialists from Japan as well
as Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Dr. Vallat
said the OIE would be seeking the views of
member countries regarding the
review of international standards on the
handling of BSE and that, in this
connection, intended to provide an opportunity
for Japanese specialists to
explain Ban
on Beef, Pork and Lamb Imports from On December 3, the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries decided
to partially lift measures banning
the importation of artiodactyla, including cattle,
swine and sheep, and their meat from Korea,
on the grounds that an outbreak of
foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in that country
has been eradicated. Owing to an
outbreak of swine cholera, the ban on imports
of pork remains in place, except
for meat from animals raised on Cheju Island, which
has had no reported cases of the disease
and has effective arrangements for
preventing an epidemic. The Korean outbreak of FMD began in
March 2000, and MAFF responded by banning
imports of artiodactyla,
including swine and cattle, and their meat.
In April 2002, the ban was lifted
after In 1999, prior to the FMD outbreak, Government
Plans to Maintain Beef Safeguards in Fiscal
2004 The government revealed, on December
8, that it intends to maintain the system
of safeguards (which provide for
tariffs to be raised in case of a sharp rise
in imports of beef) next fiscal
year, and that its content would remain largely
the same. The food service
industry has been calling for modifications
so that special circumstances such
as an outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy) would be taken into
account when deciding whether or not safeguards
should be activated, but the
government has decided simply to extend the
existing system. The official
decision to extend the system will be made
by the end of the month, at a
meeting of the Council on Customs, Tariff,
Foreign Exchange, and Other
Transactions (an advisory body to the Ministry
of Finance) and a bill proposing
a revision of the Temporary Tariff Measures
Law to extend the system will be
submitted to the ordinary session of the
Diet in 2004. Under the safeguard system, if
cumulative growth of quarterly import volume
for the past four quarters exceeds
17% on the previous four quarters, the tariff
on beef, which has provisionally
been lowered to 38.5%, is automatically returned
to 50%. On December 11, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi had separate meetings, at the Prime
Minister's Official Residence, with the prime
ministers of Thailand, Malaysia
and the Philippines (in Japan to attend the
Japan-ASEAN Commemorative Summit),
at which it was agreed to begin government-level
negotiations with a view to
the conclusion of free trade agreements (FTAs). The
negotiations with the earliest country are
due to begin in January 2004. In conjunction with the start of
negotiations, the premiers agreed that items
important to each country should
be handled in a flexible manner. Mr. Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the During the meetings, the premiers
received reports on the preparatory talks
held to date, including the
activities of the joint industry-academic-government
study groups. These
reports will be used as reference documents
for the government-level
negotiations. The report for Japanese government sources said
that negotiations would start in January
and February 2004 and that the
government planned to hold talks with two
countries per month. Dates for the
conclusion of the FTAs were not set during the
premier talks, but the next ASEAN summit,
to be held in November 2004, is said to
be a provisional target. From Consumer
Prices Rise for First Time in Five Years The Consumer Price Index report for October (base year 2000), published
by the Ministry of Public Management, Home
Affairs, Posts, and
Telecommunications (MPM) on November 28,
revealed that the overall index
(excluding fresh foods, whose prices are
subject to sharp fluctuation) rose 0.1
percentage points on the same month in 2002,
to 98.3, moving upwards for the
first time since April 1998, some five and
a half years ago. In addition to the
raising of the proportion of medical fees
to be paid by the patient in April
and of the rate of tax on cigarettes in July,
temporary factors such as rice
whose price was inflated by a poor harvest
due to this year's cold summer
coming onto the market in October. The government
believes it will take several
years for The MPM Statistics Bureau takes the
view that the rise in the overall index is
temporary, attributing it to the
fact that the rise in the price of rice coincided
with a number of systemic
factors (the rise in the proportion of medical
fees to be borne by the patient,
the tax increase on cigarettes, etc.). However,
as the MPM also points out, it
is a fact the rate of deflation is steadily
slowing. Japanese
Researchers Identify First New Species of
Whale in 90 Years It has been confirmed that a whale
stranded in shallow waters off the The stranded whale, which measured
approximately 11 meters in length, was found
dead in shallow waters off Tsunoshima in September 1998. According to the Fisheries
Research Agency, the shape of the whale's
jaw was unique, as was a segment of
its DNA base arrays. From these findings,
the researchers determined that the
animal belonged to a new species related
to the fin whale. The Tsunoshima whale is thought to inhabit the Research by the National Agriculture
and BIO-oriented Research Organization (NARO)
has revealed that, since the
1980s, the summer climate of northern NARO's National
Agriculture Research Center (NARCT) for the
Tohoku Region in On the basis of its surveys of sea
surface temperature relating to current activity
in the tropical Pacific and
the fact that the five cold summers since
the 1980s have all occurred after the
end of the El Niño cycle, the NARCT believes it is
highly likely that the five-year cycle of
fluctuation in the summer climate of
northern Japan is a phenomenon that originates
in the tropics and is related to
the El Niño phenomenon".
The
FAO Hunger Report: Why We Should Concern
Ourselves with World Problems The number of people suffering from
undernourishment worldwide has begun to rise
once more, is the warning carried
in The State of Food Insecurity in the World
2003, the annual hunger report of
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
of the United Nations, published
this week. In the first half of the 1990s
we were winning the war against world
hunger, so how is it that conditions are
deteriorating now? This is a serious
issue that concerns all humanity, and one
that The hunger report begins with a
piece of good news, reporting that conditions
are improving not only in large countries
such as Unfortunately, most of the report is
devoted to bad news. In 1999-2001, the number
of undernourished people in the
world rose to 842 million, up 18 million
on 1995-1997. In the first half of the 1990s, the
world succeeded in reducing the number of
undernourished people by 37 million.
On paper, around half of these people have
become undernourished once more. The World Food Summit of 1996 set a
goal of halving the number of undernourished
people worldwide by 2015. In 2000,
the United Nations as a whole adopted a set
of Millennium Development Goals,
which included halving poverty and hunger
and improving the availability of
education by 2015. The world came together
to tackle the hunger problem. And
yet, conditions have deteriorated. With a view to identifying the
causes of this failure, the report begins
with an analysis of countries that
have been successful in dealing with hunger.
In In spite of these efforts, the
number of undernourished people has grown.
Drought, civil war and growing
numbers of AIDS patients have led to stagnation
in agricultural production. In
the developing countries, agricultural production
has been expanded to an
unreasonable level to support population
growth, leading to environmental
problems. HIV/AIDS has robbed many developing
countries of valuable labor,
leading to poverty and hunger. A vicious
circle has arisen in which, as poverty
and hunger spread, people turn to prostitution
to make a living, causing
HIV/AIDS to spread further. It is important that the world use
this reversal in the war against hunger to
relaunch
the drive to attain the Millennium Development
Goals. In addition to self-help
efforts on the part of developing countries,
there is a need for still greater
support from the developed nations. In value terms, (from
an editorial in the November 28, 2003 issue
of the Nihon Nogyo Shimbun) |
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