Japanese MAFF Continues Shift from Industry to Consumer Support
Japanese MAFF Continues Shift from Industry to Consumer Support
By Greg Hanes, USMEF-Japan Director
Continued public concerns about the safety of Japan’s food supply are expected to lead to the establishment of a new government agency focused on consumers. While a “reform team” is currently reviewing the effectiveness of all sections within the Ministry, the mission of the new agency is expected to cover food safety and may include a mandate to address Japan’s growing dependence on food imports.
After the first case of BSE was found in Japan in 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was under intense criticism for allowing the meat in question to enter the food chain. Due to this pressure, MAFF began a shift in focus away from industry/producer support to greater emphasis on the consumer.
Following the 2003 discovery of BSE in the United States and other more recent food safety concerns, such as issues regarding imported foods (especially from China), domestic mislabeling of products, and the finding of improperly stored minimum access rice that developed toxic molds but was distributed for consumption, the Japanese government and MAFF have come under intense scrutiny.
Pressure had been growing in recent years so former Prime Minister Fukuda called for the establishment of a single consumer agency that would integrate the handling of consumer-related issues, which currently are divided among several ministries and agencies. The goal of the consumer agency would be to rebuild confidence in the government, which has been seriously tarnished by the repeated occurrences of these issues.
New Prime Minister Aso has vowed to proceed with the establishment of this new agency in April next year, but the timing is still not clear due to the recent focus on the global financial crisis as well as jockeying among ministries vying to maintain their consumer responsibilities and infighting between the ruling LDP and opposition DPJ.
New MAFF Minister Ishiba organized a "reform team" that is currently reviewing the effectiveness of each section in the Ministry, how each is performing, their benefits to consumers, and possible ways to restructure to better serve consumers.
In early November, a session including several key professors who are experts in agricultural policies and public communications was held. In addition to the above "normal" criticisms of the Ministry, one of the experts pointed out that agricultural policy in Japan will not be improved if three key points are not addressed:
- farmland reform
- minimum-access rice
- the pork variable levy system
How these points will be addressed is still not clear, but could lead to discussions on how to revise the pork import system outside of WTO discussions. These experts pointed out discrepancies in the actions of the Ministry and stressed that if real reform is to happen at MAFF, the Ministry will have to move beyond “working late at night on Diet affairs or drawing up documents for deliberation councils.”
As criticism and pressure builds on MAFF and the ruling party, an environment is being fostered in which changes that are "not in the interest of the consumer" are a heavy political liability. This shift from support of the farm producers (who have traditionally had disproportional political influence) to the consumer is monumental and MAFF is taking this very seriously.
Another key issue raised at the “reform team” meeting and being brought to the forefront as the result of consumer concerns about imported foods is Japanese self-sufficiency. Japan is currently the largest agricultural importer in the world, importing more than 60 percent of all its food on a caloric basis. MAFF is now taking an active role in developing policies and programs to enhance domestic self-sufficiency and moving back toward a more traditional Japanese diet based on local products such as rice, fish and vegetables.
These initial programs have mainly been superficial but, due to criticism by the opposition parties, are expected to become more aggressive. Not normally known to be on the cutting edge, the Ministry has utilized new and popular technologies to reach consumers, including the launch and dissemination of information on YouTube and MAFF's own Yahoo channel. (http://jp.youtube.com/maffchannel and http://maff.channel.yahoo.co.jp/). Following is MAFF’s video on agriculture self-sufficiency: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ok3ykR2GHCc&feature=channel
USMEF will continue to monitor, evaluate and react to these developments as they have a direct impact on the marketing and access issues for U.S. meat products in the foreseeable future.
Japanese MAFF Continues Shift from Industry to Consumer Support
By Greg Hanes, USMEF-Japan Director
Continued public concerns about the safety of Japan’s food supply are expected to lead to the establishment of a new government agency focused on consumers. While a “reform team” is currently reviewing the effectiveness of all sections within the Ministry, the mission of the new agency is expected to cover food safety and may include a mandate to address Japan’s growing dependence on food imports.
After the first case of BSE was found in Japan in 2001, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was under intense criticism for allowing the meat in question to enter the food chain. Due to this pressure, MAFF began a shift in focus away from industry/producer support to greater emphasis on the consumer.
Following the 2003 discovery of BSE in the United States and other more recent food safety concerns, such as issues regarding imported foods (especially from China), domestic mislabeling of products, and the finding of improperly stored minimum access rice that developed toxic molds but was distributed for consumption, the Japanese government and MAFF have come under intense scrutiny.
Pressure had been growing in recent years so former Prime Minister Fukuda called for the establishment of a single consumer agency that would integrate the handling of consumer-related issues, which currently are divided among several ministries and agencies. The goal of the consumer agency would be to rebuild confidence in the government, which has been seriously tarnished by the repeated occurrences of these issues.
New Prime Minister Aso has vowed to proceed with the establishment of this new agency in April next year, but the timing is still not clear due to the recent focus on the global financial crisis as well as jockeying among ministries vying to maintain their consumer responsibilities and infighting between the ruling LDP and opposition DPJ.
New MAFF Minister Ishiba organized a "reform team" that is currently reviewing the effectiveness of each section in the Ministry, how each is performing, their benefits to consumers, and possible ways to restructure to better serve consumers.
In early November, a session including several key professors who are experts in agricultural policies and public communications was held. In addition to the above "normal" criticisms of the Ministry, one of the experts pointed out that agricultural policy in Japan will not be improved if three key points are not addressed:
- farmland reform
- minimum-access rice
- the pork variable levy system
How these points will be addressed is still not clear, but could lead to discussions on how to revise the pork import system outside of WTO discussions. These experts pointed out discrepancies in the actions of the Ministry and stressed that if real reform is to happen at MAFF, the Ministry will have to move beyond “working late at night on Diet affairs or drawing up documents for deliberation councils.”
As criticism and pressure builds on MAFF and the ruling party, an environment is being fostered in which changes that are "not in the interest of the consumer" are a heavy political liability. This shift from support of the farm producers (who have traditionally had disproportional political influence) to the consumer is monumental and MAFF is taking this very seriously.
Another key issue raised at the “reform team” meeting and being brought to the forefront as the result of consumer concerns about imported foods is Japanese self-sufficiency. Japan is currently the largest agricultural importer in the world, importing more than 60 percent of all its food on a caloric basis. MAFF is now taking an active role in developing policies and programs to enhance domestic self-sufficiency and moving back toward a more traditional Japanese diet based on local products such as rice, fish and vegetables.
These initial programs have mainly been superficial but, due to criticism by the opposition parties, are expected to become more aggressive. Not normally known to be on the cutting edge, the Ministry has utilized new and popular technologies to reach consumers, including the launch and dissemination of information on YouTube and MAFF's own Yahoo channel. (http://jp.youtube.com/maffchannel and http://maff.channel.yahoo.co.jp/). Following is MAFF’s video on agriculture self-sufficiency: http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=ok3ykR2GHCc&feature=channel
USMEF will continue to monitor, evaluate and react to these developments as they have a direct impact on the marketing and access issues for U.S. meat products in the foreseeable future.