 What's New
 Index
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 Background of the New "Fundamental Law" |
| It has been thirty-eight years since the current law was promulgated
and it no longer
functions in the contemporary environment, warranting an wide scale review
of its legal
framework. An investigative committee on the basic issues pertaining to
food, agriculture and
rural communities, chaired by Shosaburo Kimura, was established in April
1997 (9th year of
Heisei). It conducted more than fifty conferences on the contents and
implementation of a
possible replacement to the current fundamental agriculture law, resulting
in an announcement
of a "draft report on the fundamental law of food, agriculture, and communi
1998. This was the foundation of the current debate over the legal
framework for a new
fundamental law. "The Agricultural Reform Plan and Program, " announced by
the Ministry of
Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in December 1998 was the cumulation of
all these efforts,
which was then converted into legislation and submitted to the current
session of the National
Diet as a bill. It should be also pointed out that there are basically
three points which have
governed the development of current bill, delineated below. 1. An ever declining food self-sufficiency rate The food self-sufficiency rate was 79% (calorie based) in 1960 but has declined to 41%. (See Graph A). This level is so low as to make the public nervous, and is the result of the changing dietary pattern in Japan. As per capita income rose, dietary habits became more diversified. Rice consumption has declined, and the intake of livestock and oil based foods, dependent on imported resources, have increased. Our livestock industry largely depends on imported feeds with domestic feeds constituting only 17% of the total (animal) consumption. The major oil resource is soybean of which 90% is now imported, causing a substantial decline of self-sufficiency rate. The least common area of agreement concerning the food self-sufficiency rate is what should constitute the correct contemporary diet in Japan. This subject is highly controversial, in terms of determining an optimum value and the issue can not be resolved at the discretion of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. What the agency should concentrate on is reversing the current trend, raising the food sufficiency rate since in case of emergency, any nation needs to be food self sufficient. The calorie supply per capita in 1965 was 2,459 per day (see Graph B) and increased to 2,638 by 1997. This 1997 figure can be broken down to reflect the decrease of rice calories from 1,090 to 651, and the increase of livestock calories from 157 to 435, a fact which should be highlighted. The land required to produce the amount of food imported today is 12 million hectors. Arable land in Japan totals only 4.91 million hectors. So it is clear that the current available arable land in Japan is not capable of producing the food the Japanese people are now consuming, unless the population declines drastically or the pattern of Japanese diet changes dramatically. The Japanese land provides 1,760 calories per person per day. This is lower level than that right after the war. This figure is based on the assumption that the highest calorie yielding products were planed on every available acre in all Japan. In addition, even if we were able to hold certain commodities in amble reserve, we still can only barely maintain a 2,000 calorie base diet per capita. The government is working on every front to secure the food supply, promoting domestic production increases and cultivating strong trade relationships with overseas supplier nations. Yet, certain unexpected occurrences may hamper the free flow of food imports any time, for which the government must prepare, asking the public to put the priority on calorie intake rather than preferential dietary pleasures, which may require some eating behavior adjustment, a very serious task we may have to consider. This is an area the government must upgrade its public relations efforts immeasurably. 2. An aging agricultural population and the decline of dynamics The agricultural population is aging and cultivated acreage is diminishing. The population in 1960 was 14.54 million, which had declined to 3.89 million in 1998. The population over 65 years of age was 13% in 1965, increasing to 48% in 1998, one half of the total agricultural population. Cultivated land declined from 6.07 million hectors to 4.91 million during the period from 1960 through 1998. While such are the societal condition, t here is one noteworthy new development and that is the realization of the multi faceted function of agriculture and agricultural communities. Its role in ensuring land quality, providing environmental protection, preserving scenic views and safeguarding our cultural heritage are widely recognized today. The proposed new agricultural law has been formulated with this recognition among the people of Japan in mind. |
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