Japan News Update #8 (6-19 April, 2021)
Stay updated on the latest agricultural news in Japan, that we publish every two weeks.
by Yuki Sano
Contaminated Water Leakage and Domestic and International Reactions
The Japanese government has officially decided to discharge treated water from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the ocean. After being diluted, Japan will release the water in about two years. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has promised transparency as the process moves forward. The plan calls for cooperation with IAEA to disseminate transparent and objective information both domestically and internationally. It also pledges support for local fisheries, tourism, and agriculture. However, the Japanese fishing industry is strongly opposed to the plan. The representative of national industry groups has issued a statement protesting the decision and calling on the government to clarify how it will address domestic and international safety concerns. Neighbouring South Korea, China and Taiwan met the plan with immediate protests. China will assess the threat that Japan's release of contaminated water may pose to the safety of related food and agricultural products and their trade.
Source: Govt. approves release of treated water into sea & China will assess food safety threats posed by Fukushima water release.
The pandemic impact on the Japan’s food industry
Japanese retailers are expanding their health food assortments and delivery services as the coronavirus problem sweeps the globe. The new sales strategy targets the elderly and single-person households in Japan. It aims to expand its market share in Asia, where the population is expected to reach 5 billion in the future, including China and Vietnam.
Source: Japan retailers focus on health products and delivery amid COVID
Lawson, a major Japanese convenience store, has announced plans to increase a new store in China to 10,000 in five years. The number is three times the current number of 3,300 stores. More and more people are using convenience stores to buy food and daily necessities in China due to the coronavirus epidemic. The company said it plans to open stores not only in big cities but also in rural areas.
Source: Lawson to increase outlets in China to 10,000
There were 715 bankruptcies in Japan's foodservice industry in fiscal 2020, the third-highest number in the past 20 years. A researcher at Teikoku Databank said, "It is hard to expect the bankruptcy figure to fall sharply" in the current fiscal year because of lingering requests to shorten business hours and a renewed surge in new bankruptcies in Osaka and other areas.
Source: Over 700 Japanese eateries fail in 2020 amid pandemic
Changes in the Japan’s wagyu beef export & farmers
Japanese beef producers, hit hard by the coronavirus crisis, are finding a glimmer of hope in exports to the US. P&Z Fine Foods in Paramount, California, established in 2017 jointly by subsidiaries of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Zen-Noh), processes and sells livestock products imported from Japan. Beef exports to the United States expanded in volume and recorded a 36% increase in value.
Source: Thinner the better: Boosting sales of wagyu beef in the US
In 2021, the second year of the pandemic, there has been a shift in production items in production areas. Japanese producers and local JAs (Japan agricultural cooperative) switch from products for restaurants to products for households grown under contract and introduce seasonal vegetables for which sales channels can be expected. They struggle to stabilize sales amid the pandemic by spreading the risk to products with less market fluctuation.
Source: Producers switch production items due to sluggish business demand amid a pandemic
The coronavirus outbreak has led to an increase in the number of people in Japan looking for work in agriculture, according to Mynavi Corporation, a Tokyo-based employment information firm. The pandemic encouraged more people to look for farming jobs due to lower wage and telework, the company said.
Source: More Japanese are looking for farming jobs
New trends toward the greenhouse gas & food waste reduction
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is accelerating research to curb methane emissions and other greenhouse gases from cow excrement to prevent global warming. Starting in April, MAFF will investigate microorganisms in the stomachs of cattle and feed ingredients to find ways to reduce emissions of the heat-trapping gases. Of the greenhouse gases emitted by Japan's agriculture, forestry, and fisheries industries, gas from cow burps and excrement accounts for about 30 per cent.
Source: Japan Aims to Reduce Cow Burps to Fight Global Warming
Convenience stores in Japan are trying to reduce food waste by discounting expired products. It is a significant shift from the past policy of throwing away products unless price reduction. One of the convenience chains, FamilyMart aims to make it easier for franchise store owners to discount their products.
Source: Japanese convenience stores tackle food waste
Natural disasters impact
In the international trade of agricultural commodities such as sugar and grains, regular prices have been rising periodically amid concerns about supply shortages due to changes in weather conditions in many areas, such as drought in Vietnam where sugarcane is grown. It affects both producers and consumers, including Japanese households.
Source: Changing Climate Driving Food Price Hikes
Tochigi Prefecture, north of Tokyo, has found pigs infected with swine fever, also known as CSF, on two farms. The total number of pigs to be culled will be about 37,000, the most significant number since 2018 when Gifu Prefecture saw the first domestic outbreak in 26 years.
Source: Swine fever spreads, 37,000 pigs to be culled
For previous agricultural news updates, click here.