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At a meeting on food self-sufficiency, held
on September 16 as part of discussions preparatory
to the drafting of the New Basic Plan for
Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, the Ministry
of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)
Council on Food Agriculture and Rural Area
Policies Planning Committee recognized that
it was likely to be difficult to attain the
goal of raising Japan's food self-sufficiency
ratio to 45% (on a calorific basis) by FY
2010. The Committee said it was considering the possibility
of putting the target date that is to be
included in the New Basic Plan back five
years to FY 2015. MAFF says the food self-sufficiency ratio
"has held steady in recent years, but
has been declining in the long term."
Among other reasons, it cites the fact that
the national diet, which formerly centered
on rice and could largely be supplied by
domestic production, has changed significantly
and that consumption of livestock products
and oils and fats, for which Japan depends
on imports, is increasing. On the grounds
that it is likely to be difficult to increase
food self-sufficiency on the assumption of
current dietary habits, MAFF also proposes
a national food education drive with a view
to improving dietary habits. Planning Committee Chairman Shinichi Shogenji said the Committee would make a policy assessment of the fact that the ratio had
held steady over the past five years before
finalizing numerical targets in February
2005 or shortly thereafter. Yoshinobu Shimamura Appointed Agriculture Minister in 2nd Cabinet
Reshuffle On September 27, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi reshuffled his Cabinet for the second
time, replacing 11 out of 17 Cabinet ministers. Mr. Yoshinobu Shimamura, who holds the post for the second time
in his career, was appointed Minister of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. At a
press conference at the Prime Minister's
Official Residence, Mr. Shimamura told reporters that the Prime Minister had
asked him to take an aggressive approach
to the structural reform of agriculture,
focusing on measures relating to "core
farmers", and to ensuring food safety,
among other tasks, and said he would devote
all his energy to accomplishing them. Mr.
Shimamura said he would take a positive stance on
the question of allowing joint stock companies
to enter into agriculture business and that,
once companies wishing to participate had
undergone rigorous screening to ensure that
they took a responsible approach to the future,
he would consider relaxing regulations to
some degree, taking into account the need
for continuity of business management. Regarding
the negotiation of free trade agreements
with Asian countries, Mr. Shimamura stressed that he would be taking a cautious
stance on the abolition of tariffs on sensitive
products such as rice. In connection with
the review of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) countermeasures, Mr. Shimamura said he intended to take account of consumer
opinion, stressing that it was important
to establish conditions that allowed consumers
to eat beef with peace of mind. Other ministerial appointments were as follows.
Mr. Shoichi Nakagawa was retained as Minister of Economy,
Trade and Industry. Joining the Cabinet for
the first time, Mr. Nobutaka Machimura was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Mr. Hidehisa Otsuji (House of Councilors) was appointed Minister
for Health, Labour and Welfare, Mr. Seiichiro Murakami was appointed Minister of State
for Regulatory Reform, Administrative Reform,
Special Zones for Structural Reform, and
Regional Revitalization, and Mr. Yasufumi Tanahashi was appointed Minister of State for Food
Safety. On September 29, Mr. Mineichi Iwanaga and Mr. Takayoshi Tsuneda (House of Councilors) were appointed Senior
Vice Ministers of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries and on September 30 Mr. Yoshinori
Oguchi (New Komeito; House of Representatives) and Mr. Yoshito Kajiya (House of Councilors) were appointed Parliamentary
Secretaries for Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries. Note: Unless otherwise stated in parentheses —
(name of party; House of Representatives/House
of Councilors) in the text — all appointees
are members of the Liberal Democratic Party
and of the House of Representatives. MAFF Says Number of Main-Business Fruit Farmers
Likely to Fall by Half by 2015 At its fourth meeting, held in Tokyo on September
28, the Production Area and Business Management Subcommittee of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries (MAFF) Council on Food, Agriculture
and Rural Area Policies Fruit Committee discussed
core farmers in the fruit-growing sector.
During the meeting, MAFF published projections
for the fruit farming sector which suggest
that, by 2015, the number of commercial farmers
whose main business is fruit farming would
fall to approximately 40,000 and the area
of land devoted to fruit farming would fall
to approximately 50,000 hectares, as compared
with 100,000 farmers and 100,000 hectares
in 2000. MAFF derived its figures from the age composition
of farm business owners in the year 2000,
projecting how many would still be of working
age in 2015. The figures do not take account
of persons newly engaged in farming but,
as the number of farmers taking up fruit
farming each year is less than 1,000, a spokesman
for the Fruit and Flower Division of the
Agricultural Production Bureau said it would
be difficult to maintain current production
volume even if the average area of land farmed
by main-business farm households were doubled
and the number of farmers taking up fruit
farming was taken into account. Regarding the question of up to which age
band farmers should be considered "core
farmers", the Fruit and Flower Division
took the view that, as main-business farmers
in their 60s accounted for approximately
half of all commercial fruit farmers and
half of the total growing area farmed, it
would be necessary to consider including
farmers in their 60s in the concept of "core
farmers". MAFF to Purchase 90% of Government Rice from
Listed Brands The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) has finalized the transaction
rules (on brand selection, purchasing volume,
etc.) to govern the purchasing of rice produced
in 2004, which it will bring forward to December.
A quota equivalent to approximately 90% of
the maximum purchase volume of 400,000 tons
is to come from brands listed by the National
Rice Trade and Price Formation Center. The
purchase volume for each brand of rice will
be based on the proportion of the total inspected
volume of all listed brands accounted for
by the brand in question. Consequently, the
proportion of popular brands from major production
areas within total purchasing will rise.
The remaining 10% is to be set aside for
purchasing from prefectures that have not
yet had the rice they produce listed by the
Center, and a quota will be set for purchasing
by prefecture, regardless of brand. In conjunction with rice policy reforms,
the method used for government rice purchasing
is to change. In the past, MAFF has decided
purchase price according to grade and class
within brand, but from rice produced in 2004
onwards, will be introducing a competitive
tender system. The aim of the new system
is to link purchase price to market price,
reducing the fiscal burden of operating government
rice inventories and make it easier to sell
off government rice by avoiding inappropriate
bias towards certain brands. The names of
the brands of rice that the government wishes
to purchase will be advertised and the JA
cooperatives and other suppliers will be
invited to submit bids. MAFF Proposes Compulsory Leasing to Resolve
Problem of Abandonment of Cultivation On October 8, at a meeting of the Council
on Food, Agriculture and Rural Area Policies
Planning Committee, which is holding discussions
preparatory to the drafting of the New Basic
Plan for Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) proposed, as a means of
resolving the problem of land lying idle
as a result of cultivation being abandoned,
a system under which, where agreed by the
community, farmland of which cultivation
has been abandoned (i.e. farmland left uncultivated
for 12 months, which the farmer does not
intend to cultivate in the future) would
be subject to compulsory leasing to specified
agricultural corporations.*1 Under the measures proposed by MAFF, municipal
governments would draw up a basic plan to
prevent the abandonment of cultivation and
encourage the cultivation of land already
lying idle, making a distinction between
land that will continue to be used as farmland,
and land where the conditions are too difficult
for farming that is to be converted to forest
or used for other purposes. MAFF proposed new measures relating to land
that will continue to be used as farmland. The first measure is compulsory leasing of
such farmland to specified agricultural corporations
and to the Agricultural Land Holding Rationalization
Corporation. Municipal governments will negotiate
with landowners who have abandoned cultivation
of their land with a negative impact on local
agriculture, for the sale or lease of their
land and, if no agreement is reached, will assign
rights to use the land on a compulsory basis. MAFF is also considering a system to allow
municipal governments to manage any land
of which cultivation has been abandoned if
the ownership of the land is in doubt, for
inheritance-related or other reasons. The
members of the Planning Committee raised
no objections to this proposal. In connection with the review of systems
governing the conversion of farmland to other
uses, MAFF also proposed that municipal agricultural
committees should be given the power to conduct
on-the-spot inspections with a view to ensuring
a faster response to the fly tipping of industrial
waste. *1: A "specified agricultural corporation"
is an agricultural production corporation
operating in an area where a shortage of
"core" farmers is expected to arise,
and which the community agrees should be
positioned as corporation that will, in the
future, use the majority of agricultural
land in the area, and whose status as such
has been approved by the municipal government
authority. Japan's 14th Case of BSE Discovered On October 14, the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced that
BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) tests on dead cattle had identified another
infected animal. The animal in question was
a 48-month old female of the Holstein breed,
raised by a dairy farmer in Shikaoi, Hokkaido. This is Japan's 14th case of the disease since the domestic outbreak
began and the second to be detected as a
result of the testing of cattle that have
died of natural causes rather than slaughtered
animals. On September 23, MAFF had announced the discovery
of Japan's 13th case of BSE — a 103-month old female
Holstein raised by a dairy farmer in Shinjo, Nara Prefecture — which was the oldest
animal yet found to be infected. Ruling Parties Approve Proposed Review of
BSE Testing On October 14, the Liberal Democratic Party
(LDP) and New Komeito approved a government proposal for a review
of domestic BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) countermeasures, a main pillar of which
is to exclude cattle under 20 months of age
from the scope of testing. While members
of both ruling parties urged caution on any
relaxation of testing requirements at present,
the government proposal was approved, on
condition that public discussions should
continue to be held in all prefectures, with
a view to winning consumer support for the
review. As an interim measure to prevent confusion
in conjunction with the relaxation of testing
requirements, the LDP asked that 100% state
subsidies should be provided for the testing
of all slaughtered cattle if local government
authorities choose to continue this practice
independently, for a period of three years.
The government and ruling parties are to
finalize details of the review, including
the question of how long a transition period
should be allowed before the implementation
of the new testing system. Effectively, state
subsidization of the testing of all slaughtered
cattle will continue for the time being. On October 15, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Agriculture,
Forestry and Fisheries referred the government
proposal to the Food Safety Commission, which
will now be the forum for the further discussion
of its pros and cons. Japan-US Summit Makes No Material Progress
Towards Lifting of Beef Import Ban On September 22, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi met United States President George
Bush for talks at a hotel in New York. Regarding
the resumption of imports of beef produced
in the United States, suspended following
the outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) in that country, the two leaders agreed
that imports should be resumed as soon as
possible and confirmed that representatives
of the two governments would meet, without
delay, to discuss concrete details. However,
the negotiations are certain to run into
difficulties over matters such as the method
used by the US authorities to determine the
age of cattle. While admitting that there had been no detailed
discussion of the fact that Japan is pursuing
a review of its BSE countermeasures, including
the requirement for the testing of all slaughtered
cattle, the two leaders said they felt the
approach taken by both Japan and the United
States had achieved "considerable progress"
towards the resolution of the problem. China Bans Charcoal Exports; One-Third of
All Charcoal Used in Japan The Forestry Agency announced on September
28 that the People's Republic of China would
be banning exports of charcoal from October,
to protect its forests. China supplies around
30% of all charcoal used in Japan and its
market share in hakutan ["white" hardwood charcoal], widely
used by eel and yakitori [grilled chicken on skewers] restaurants
is as high as 80%. The Forestry Agency said
that it would strive to ensure that demand
was satisfied through a higher volume of
imports from countries other than China and
an expansion of domestic production. In 2003, domestic charcoal consumption was
approximately 180,000 tons, of which approximately
63,000 tons were imported from China. Demand
for hakutan, which burns with a steady heat, is high
among restaurants. Thailand Prepared to be Flexible on Sensitive
Items in Negotiation of FTA On October 10 it was revealed that Thailand,
which is currently negotiating a free trade
agreement (FTA) with Japan, had indicated
to the Japanese negotiators during the Asia-Europe
Meeting (ASEM) held in the Vietnamese capital
Hanoi, that it was prepared to be flexible
and would consider making sensitive products
such as rice exceptions to the abolition
of tariffs. The ASEM was held over a period of three
days, September 7-9. The Thai position was
put forward during informal talks between
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and Thailand's Prime Minister Shinawatra Thaksin. Mr. Thaksin said that Thailand was serious about making
progress in the negotiation of an FTA with
Japan and was prepared to invest time in
resolving any difficult issues. Mr. Koizumi
replied that Japan, too, was keen to see
a successful outcome to the negotiations
and that the two countries should set aside
any issues that could not be resolved even
if time and energy were spent on them and
should press on with the negotiation of the
remaining issues. The Japanese government
feels Thailand's statement offers hope of
progress in the negotiations. In earlier discussions before the start of
government-level negotiations of an economic
partnership agreement (EPA), including the
proposed FTA, the two countries had agreed
to take account of sensitive issues. However,
during the government-level negotiations
in September, Thailand asked that Japan abolish
tariffs on four products that Japan considers
"sensitive" — rice, sugar,
starch, and chicken meat. The Japanese government
said it could not accept this request and
the negotiations had been expected to run
into difficulties. Japan Lifts Ban on Imports of Poultry and
Poultry Meat from Canada, Korea, Parts of
United States The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries (MAFF) announced on September 17
that it was lifting the ban on imports of
poultry and poultry meat from Canada as of
September 17 and from Korea as of October
13, following confirmation that the outbreaks
of highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza
(fowl plague), in those countries were at
an end. Subsequently, MAFF announced it had received
confirmation that the three states of Rhode
Island, Delaware and Maryland were free of
avian influenza on September 28 and that
Texas was free of the disease on October
13. The import ban on poultry and poultry
meat from the United States has now been
lifted with regard to all states except Connecticut
and New Jersey. 19.5% of Japanese are 65 or Over; One in
Four Will be Senior Citizens by 2014 Estimates published by the Ministry of Public
Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications
to coincide with "Respect for the Aged
Day" (September 20) suggest that the
number of people in Japan aged 65 or over
is now 24.84 million (as of September 15).
People aged 65 or over now account for 19.5%
of the total population, the highest level
on record, so that one in every five people
in Japan is a senior citizen. At 19.5%, the
ratio in Japan is also well above those of
other developed nations — 18.9% in
Italy, 16.2% in France, 15.9% in the United
Kingdom, and 12.4% in the United States.
In 10 years' time (2014), the number of people
in Japan aged 65 or over is likely to reach
31.99 million, which means that around 25.3%
of the total population or one in every four
will be a senior citizen. A breakdown of senior citizen numbers by
gender suggests that there are now 10.49
million men aged 65 or over, accounting for
16.9% of the total male population, and 14.35
million women, accounting for 22.0% of the
female population. The elderly population index — the
index of the population aged 65 or over where
the working-age population (those aged 15-64)
is taken to be 100 — has also risen
0.8 points on 2003 to 29.2. It is expected
to rise to 48.0 by 2025, so that Japan will
be a society in which every two people of
the working-age generations support one elderly
person. Japan to Have 100 Days a Year Over 30°C by 2050, Southeast Asian Climate by 2100 On September 16, a joint research team formed
by the University of Tokyo Center for Climate
System Research, the National Institute for
Environmental Studies (NIES), the Japan Agency
for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC),
and the Frontier Research Center for Global
Change (FRCGC) published research that suggests
that in 100 years' time, Japan will have
much hotter summers and more heavy downpours. The team forecasts that, if the world continues
to prioritize economic growth, the number
of days per year on which daytime peak temperature
is 30°C or higher, which averaged 50 during the
20th century, is likely to rise to more than
100 by 2050, and around 140 by 2100, and
that the frequency and volume of rainfall
will increase by nearly 20%. The team forecasts
that the average summer temperature will
rise to around 27°C, making Japan's climate similar to that
of Southeast Asia. The team made its projections using one of
the world's largest supercomputers to simulate
the behavior of the global climate and predict
the trend of global warming as far as 2100.
The team compared two 30-year periods: 1971-2000
and 2071-2100. To allow for change in economic
conditions, they posited two scenarios drawn
up by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC). If the world continues to
prioritize economic growth, the team forecasts
that the average temperature during the Japanese
summer (June-August) will rise by 4.2°C and that rainfall will increase by 19%.
Even if the emphasis shifts towards environmental
protection, the team forecasts that temperature
will rise by 3.0°C and rainfall by 17%. The number of days
on which there is heavy rainfall (in excess
of 100 mm) will also treble. Research Suggests Apple Polyphenols Reduce Organ Fat, Boost Muscle Strength Joint research conducted by Asahi Breweries,
Ltd. and a team of researchers at Nippon
Sport Science University graduate school
headed by Professor Hiroyuki Nakajima suggests
that polyphenols extracted from apples may boost muscle strength
and help to reduce fat in and around internal
organs. Asahi hopes to verify the results by means
of experiments involving human subjects and
commercialize the findings through the development
of health supplements and drinks as early as 2005. Polyphenols are substances found in the flesh and, in
higher concentrations, in the skin of apples.
They have been shown to reduce triglyceride and cholesterol absorption when fed to mice,
and to help prevent dental caries in human
subjects. The results of the research show
that mice fed with food containing 5% apple
polyphenols had 16% greater muscle strength and 27%
less organ fat than mice fed a normal diet. Asahi claims that polyphenols help to break down organ fat but says the
mechanism by which they boost muscle strength
has not been fully elucidated and will be
the subject of further research. Asahi says
apple polyphenols could help athletes who need to increase
their strength or reduce their body fat.
Organic Farming: the Need to Pay Greater
Attention to Soil Preparation This year, the symposium at the autumn convention of the Japanese Society for Horticultural
Science took as its theme the evaluation
of the quality of organic farm produce. One
fact that emerged in the course of the debate
was the uncertainty of current approaches
to soil preparation. The methods of soil preparation used in organic
farming have little scientific basis. In
the worst cases, organic farming, although
often said to follow the principles of sustainable
agriculture, can make the soil sick to the
extent that it becomes impossible to continue
farming. If organic farming is to spread,
a system of soil analysis and technical guidance
based on the results of that analysis must
be established. The key principle of organic agricultural
production is to harness the productive power
of farmland that comes from the properties
of the soil. For this reason, soil preparation
plays a very important role in organic farming.
Organic farmers show great zeal in spreading
manure with a view to ensuring good soil
quality. One often hears farmers saying,
"I put in X tons of manure every year"
or "When winter comes, I put in X truckloads."
And yet, more manure is not necessarily better. According to one scientist, many farmers
show an almost religious belief in the virtues
of manure. They plow huge quantities of manure
into their land without doubting for a moment
that it will improve the soil. But what they
lack is analytical techniques to determine
what kind of manure and how much manure they
should use. Plowing large quantities of manure into the
soil may lead to a buildup in the soil of
excess nitrogen that the crop has not been
able to absorb, in organic form. This may
lead to groundwater contamination. Even if
less manure is used, there may still be problems.
With livestock manure, if the amount to be
used is decided on the basis of nitrogen
content, the phosphoric acid and potassium
content may easily rise too high, with a
detrimental impact on the growth of the crop.
If the same manure is used for several years,
the balance of trace elements may be disrupted.
A shortage or excess of trace elements in
the soil can cause physiological abnormalities
in crops. Manure is not a panacea. Just as too much
salt or too much sugar can damage one's health,
manure is not always harmless. It is important
to know, in advance, the composition of the
manure to be used and the soil conditions
of the farmland that is to receive it. Nowadays,
easy-to-use soil diagnosis kits are available
commercially and some agricultural extension
centers and JA cooperatives are equipped
with soil analysis equipment, making soil
diagnosis easier to tackle. Organic farming
should, after all, begin with looking at
soil and understanding what is meant by soil
preparation. Understanding the properties of manure is
also important for those raising the livestock
that produces the manure. When the Law for
the Appropriate Treatment and the Promotion
of Utilization of Livestock Manure comes
into full effect next month, the competition
in manure distribution will become excessive.
Unless the composition of manure is clearly
indicated, arable farmers will refuse to
use it. There is widespread interest in organic
farming. To tap into the fresh demand, it
will no doubt be necessary to supply manure
whose composition has been adjusted and which
has been subjected to a greater degree of
processing. We need to pay more attention
to soil preparation. (from an editorial in the October 11, 2004 issue of the Nihon Nogyo Shimbun) |