Japan: Agricultural News Update (11 - 25 Jan. 2021)
Every two weeks the agricultural section of the Embassy in Tokyo makes an overview of interesting articles in the field of food, agriculture, sustainability, Innovation and other business.
By Yuki Sano
Theme 1: The impact of natural disasters on Japan
Japan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change: In 2018 and 2019, a record of typhoons hit the country , which led to heat waves hospitalizing thousands and heavy rains forcing millions to evacuate from their homes. Climate change is hampering economic growth, affecting infrastructure, rice, fruit, fisheries, and livelihoods. Moreover, it has already begun to threaten long-standing regional specialties and local cultures, like the apple production in Nagano.
Source: The true cost of the climate crisis on Japan
Tohoku University organized a symposium to evaluate and update the reconstruction projects in the Great East Japan Earthquake areas. One of the projects is the cultivation of clean tropical fruits and organic tomatoes in Katsurao village, Fukushima Prefecture, where safety concerns were raised after the Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident.
Source: "Growing clean tomatoes started after Japanese earthquake and tsunami"
Theme 2: Japanese whaling
The recent death of a Mink Whale in Taiji caused International disapproval. Prime Minister Johnson expressed in the telegraph his opposition to the "cruel" hunting of minke whales after fishermen finally caught them this week after entering a set net off the town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture last year.
Source: Johnson takes stand against 'cruel' Japanese whaling - The Telegraph
Theme 3: The impact of coronaviruses on the Japanese economy and agriculture
Japan's state of emergency forces food wholesalers to scrap goods as orders from the restaurant industry have fallen sharply, and excess food piles up. The state of emergency has created an imbalance between supply and demand, leaving many companies with a surplus. Only a small percentage of this food can be provided to social-support organizations.
Source: Excess food piles up during state of emergency
Supermarket sales in Japan in 2020 rose 0.9 percent year-on-year on a comparable-store basis for the first time in five years, due to higher food sales as more people ate at home during the new coronavirus pandemic, an industry body said.
Source: Japan supermarket sales grow 0.9% in 2020 for 1st rise in 5 yrs
Japan's core consumer prices dropped 1.0% in December from a year earlier. The steepest fall in more than a decade, mainly due to lower energy prices and the government's travel subsidy campaign amid a coronavirus outbreak, official data showed.
Source: Japan's December CPI down 1.0% in steepest fall in over 10 years
Theme 4: Technology
NTT East plans to enter the drone business to help the agricultural sector to cope with a severe labor shortage. A joint venture will build drones that spray pesticides and seeds and use artificial intelligence to analyze aerial images of crops. Farmers across the country will be able to use the data to combat pests.
Source: NTT East to develop drones for farming
At ROBODEX, an exhibition of industrial robots held in Tokyo, many companies exhibited new assistive suits to help lift and lower arms, such as for harvesting pears. They are designed to be used in agriculture, and are cheaper than those used in other industries. Sales will start in earnest in time for this spring's farming season.
Source: Assist-suit launched to aid harvesting
Kochi Prefecture has announced the launch of the Internet of Plants (IoP) Cloud, built-in collaboration with industry, government, and academia. The system will enable the aggregation of data obtained from greenhouses and shipment data from Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA). It will use artificial intelligence to show the best cultivation model for the region, useful for agricultural guidance and yield predictions.
Source: "Optimal solution" for horticultural management with the cloud – started in Kouchi prefecture
Theme 5: Japan's meat industry
Since last November, the highly pathogenic avian flu virus has been detected in 36 poultry farms in 15 prefectures, moving from western Japan. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has called on farmers to report even small irregularities. Chickens infected with the virus this season may take longer to die and may infect other chickens.
Source: Record number of chickens culled for bird flu
The market for soybean-based meat substitutes is growing in Japan and is expected to become an environment-friendly alternative to meet future food shortages. According to Seed Planning Inc., a Tokyo-based research firm, the market for meat substitutes using vegetable proteins in Japan is expected to grow 2.3-fold over the next ten years to reach ¥78 billion by 2030. The public-private council, set up by MAFF last October, will develop certification standards for safe, high-quality, and environmentally friendly food.
Source: Market for meat substitutes growing in Japan