japan's food security under threat of meat and protectionism

8/3/2019 Japan's Food Security Under Threat of Meat and Protectionism

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Monsicha Hoonsuwan

Final Paper

WLC 083

Professor Cadd

5 May 2011

Japans Food Security under Threats of Meat and Protectionism

The fear of contamination caused by the radiation leak at Fukushima Daiichi

nuclear power plant the consequence of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan

earlier this year has caused a food crisis in the country with 39 percent food self-sufficiency ratio. Stores are running out of meal staples likenatto , Japanese fermented

soybeans, and instant noodles. Such scarcity is partly a result of the Japanese heartland

being struck by the earthquake and the 10-metre tsunami. Yet perhaps a more important

reason Japan has always struggled to feed its 127-million population and has been

reliant on food imports; low food self-sufficiency is nothing new for the only developed

Asian country. In fact, Japan imports about $50 billion worth of agricultural products in

20101, making it the third-largest agricultural importer in the world.2 However, as this

essay will demonstrate, the vulnerability of Japans food supply does not result from a

global decrease in food production, but rather from shifting nutritional trends and

domestic politicsthat threaten the nations food security.

Food is essential to human lives and, therefore, is important to maintaining global

security.To understand Japans food situation, it is important to distinguish two

1 United States Department of Agriculture, "Economic Research Service Briefing Room: Japan,"United States Department of Agriculture , March 22, 2011, http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Japan (accessed May4, 2011).2 Ibid.


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important terms that are often used interchangeably: food self-sufficiency and food

security. In most peoples minds, food self -sufficiency and food security go hand in hand.

The 1996 World Food Summit states that food security exists when all people, at all

times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that

meets their dietary needs and food preferences for and active maintain a healthy and

active and healthy life. 3 High food self-sufficiency means a country depends less on

agricultural imports. Thus, it is common to presume that if a country maintains high ratio

of self-sufficiency, it will strengthen its food security as well as contributing to global

security by preventing global hunger unrests.Preserving global food security is a matter of fulfilling these four elements:

availability, accessibility, utilization and stability.The availability of sufficient

quantities of food of appropriate quality, supplied through domestic production or

imports (including food aid) 4 is as important as the accessibility of adequate foods for

nutritious diet individuals can acquire. Subsequently, ensuring proper utilization of food

through appropriate diet, clean water, sanitation and health care to satisfy all

physiological needs is also crucial to maintain peace and food security. However, all of

these have to occurat all times and should not be at risk of shocks such as economic or

climate crisis or cyclical events like seasonal insecurity of food, according to the Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO). In the end, the debate about food security boils

down to food accessibility versus availability: Do people getenough food? which

depends largely on political, economic and social factors, and Are there enough food in

the world for every one?

3 FAO Agricultural and Development Economics Division, "Food Security,"Policy Brief , June 2006.4 Ibid.


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Rapid population growth is often cited as a culprit of food insecurity, as more

people are demanding more food while the agricultural production progressively declines.

Population growth needs to be curbed to guarantee food there is enough food in the world

to feed everyone. However, such claim overlooks a significant gap between the worlds

most nourished and those who go to bed hungry each night. FAO estimates a total of 925

million people undernourished in 2010, which has declined from 1.023 billion in 2009.

This decline, however, is not a consequence of more food being produced, but due to

better access. Global cereal harvests have been strong for the past several years, even as

the number of undernourished people was rising. The overall improvement in foodsecurity in 2010 is thus primarily a result of better access to food due to the improvement

in economic conditions, particularly in developing countries, combined with lower food

prices.5 Moreover, the ability of most countries to produce enough food has been

promising from 1970 to 2000; it was only in sub-Saharan Africa that population growth

outpaced food production.6 Such statistics highlight the significance of food accessibility

to food security. The world is not running out of food, but is facing a severe lack of equal

food distribution that leaves poorer people struggling to feed themselves. What the world

is running out of is open trade and free-market options that can cope with changing

demand and supply patterns.7

5Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,Global hunger declining, but still unacceptablyhigh: International hunger targets difficult to reach , News Release, Economic and Social Development

Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Rome: Food and AgricultureOrganization of the United Nations, 2010).6 James E. Harf and Mark Owen Lombardi, "Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in the ForeseeableFuture?" inTaking Sides: Clashing Views on Global Issues , 121-122 (New York City, New York:McGraw-Hill, 2010).7 Terence Corcoran, "The real drivers of food and oil prices: Corcoran," National Post , April 26, 2008,http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2008/04/26/the-real-drivers-of-food-and-oil-prices-corcoran.aspx#ixzz1LI4BoXww (accessed May 4, 2011).


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The case is true in Japan, where agricultural production continues to decline. It is

undeniable that the size of Japanese domestic agriculture does not ensure the availability

of food for every Japanese person. However, globalization allows Japan to import a large

amount of resources it needsfrom the worlds food stock to keep its population satisfied.

This heavy reliance on imports 60 percent agricultural imports, primarily meat

nevertheless, is shaking Japanese people to the core. Low self-sufficiency rate means that

food security in Japan depends on too many factorsoutside the countrys control such as

global economic downturn, climate changes, and natural disasters. In order to be self-

sufficient, the government promises farmers subsidies, especially for rice, fishing, andseafood industry, and high tariffs on certain foreign agricultural products. Consequently,

cheaper agricultural products are kept out of domestic market, leaving Japanese

consumers with expensive made-in-Japan foodstuffs.

First, it is important to look into Japans nutritional trends as the main cause of its self-

insufficiency. The country has experienced drastic socioeconomic changes after WWII,

when the country grew at an exponential rate to become the sole developed country in

Asia. Traditionally, Japanese people devour on nutritionally balanced diet consists of rice,

fish, and vegetables. However, economic prosperity and social mobility enticed Japanese

people to a new lifestyle and dietary habits. A Westernized diet heavy on meat becomes a

delicacy for those who could afford.As the world beco mes richer, people eat too much,

and too much of the wrong things above all, meat. 8 Certainly, rice a crop in which

Japan is self-sufficient 9 remains the staple food for most Japanese, but a large number

8 Bee Wilson, "The Last Bite: Is the World's Food System Collapsing?" inTaking Sides: Clashing Views onGlobal Issues , 131-137 (New York City, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010).9 Statistics Bureau,Chapter 5: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries , Statistical Handbook of Japan 2010(Tokyo: Statistics Bureau, 2010).


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of people are turning to a Westernized diet that consists of meat products that domestic

agricultural production alone cannot supply sufficiently. 10

Rising consumption of meat leads to an increase in meat supply that requires a

large amount of grain fundamental to most of the worlds food to produce.11 In order

to produce a kilogram of meat, four kilograms of corn and cereal grains are used as

animal feed something the mountainous terrain of Japan cannot produce. This forces

Japan to import a large amount of grains. A growing popularity of meat comes with a

price for the rice-growing industry as well as the countrys self -sufficiency. Demands for

rice decline; Rice consumption per person in Japan has dropped as much as 50 per cent[sic] in the past 40 years, even while the population has been growing. From now on, the

level of rice consumption will be influenced by the double impact of an aging society,

which will push down per-capita[sic] consumption, and a shrinking population. 12 Yet,

rice remains the ideal crop not because farmers get a lot of money from the government

to grow it, and sell it to consumers at a high price. As a result, there is no need for

farmers to divert their lands to grow other crops that Japan is importing to help reduce

that reliance. More importantly, the shift to meat-based meals is made cheaper and easier

due to the high price of rice and the import of meat from foreign countries, which in turn

fuels more desire for meat instead of vegetables and rice. When domestic agricultural

productions do not adjust to meet the changing food demands, Japan falls deeper and

deeper into the vicious cycle of self-insufficiency.

10 Statistics Bureau,Chapter 5: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries , Statistical Handbook of Japan 2010(Tokyo: Statistics Bureau, 2010).11 Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ensuring the Future of Food (Tokyo, October 3,2008).12 Kazuhito Yamashita, "Ensuring Japans fo od security through free trade not tariffs," East Asia Forum ,March 10, 2010, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/10/ensuring-japans-food-security-through-free-trade-not-tariffs/ (accessed May 3, 2011).


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support program keeps these part-time farmers on their lands instead of making them lend

their lands to full-time farmers, so full-time farmers cannot expand their farmlands to

reduce the cost of production. In short, Japanese government is raising the domestic price

of rice in Japan by providing subsidies to farmers, while keeping off cheaper foreign

rice reducing supply and competition at the same time. Unfortunately, such policies

reduce the accessibility of rice for its population. High prices of staple food such as rice

may not affect middle-class to higher-income citizens, but the Japanese government is

harming food security of its growing impoverished population 15.7 percent, comparing

to 17.1 percent in the U.S.15

who still depend their lives on the crop. Suggestions to fixthis problem include the liberalization of rice trade, which means the abolition of both

tariffs and non-tariff barriers. This will make it less attractive for part-time farmers to

farm, so they start renting out their lands to full-time farmers who will be able to produce

rice at a cheaper cost, automatically driving down domestic price and make Japanese rice

more competitive.

Critics of trade liberalization such as the Consumers Union of Japan argue that the

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement will

eliminate small- and medium-size farms by favoring strong agricultural exporters. Stating

its concern about the negative effects such trade agreements can have on Japans

agricultural sector, the Consumers Union of Japan cites governments estimates that if

Japan join TPP, its food-sufficiency rate could fall from 40 percent to 14 percent and an

economic loss of 4.1 trillion yen for the entire country. Japan will have to compete with

agricultural products from the U.S. and Australia, which poses very little success for the

15 Martin Fackler, "Japan Tries to Face Up to Growing Poverty Problem,"The New York Times , April 21,2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/world/asia/22poverty.html (accessed May 3, 2011).


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island country. The government, in particular, is against liberalizing the rice trade due to

the fear that it would make Japan more dependent on food imports and put national food

security at risk in such occasions like crop failure, war, and embargo. Such fear is

unwarranted. A stochastic computable general equilibrium model quantified impact of

rice productivity shocks and export quotas by major rice exporters to Japan and found

little possibility that trade liberalization jeopardize Japans security. 16

In order to ensure a smooth flow of food supplies into the country, Japanese

government coordinates with the state-owned Japan Bank for International Cooperation

and Japan International Cooperation Agency to loan money to companies to purchase orlease farmland abroad, according to Bloombergs report. 17 Products produced by

Japanese investors overseas might not subject to Japans high tariffs. 18 As demonstrated

earlier, however, this policy reflects a protectionist ideology and does not strengthen

Japans food security or its self -sufficiency. Japan should, in the near future, follows

WTO guidelines and liberalize its agricultural trade to protects the stability of its food

supply and a country as a whole.

Although the link between food security and global security is complex and

indirect, Japan should pay attention to its attempt to raise its food self-sufficiency rate

through protectionist policies due to their adverse impacts on food security. Political

instabilities caused by hunger have been observed all over the world. During the 2007-

2008 world food price crisis, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon warned that increasing

16 Tetsuji Tanaka and Hosoe Nobuhiro,Productivity Shocks and National Food Security for Japan , RIETIDiscussion Paper Series (Tokyo: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), 2008).17 Aya Takada, "Japan to Promote Farm Investment Overseas for Food Security," Bloomberg , April 26,2009, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akj4F3JyDUrI (accessed May 3,2011).18 Phusadee Arunmas and Parista Yuthamanop, "Japan to invest in food security," Bangkok Post , March 18,2011, http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/227292/japan-to-invest-in-food-security (accessedMay 2, 2011).


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food prices could harm international security, economic growth, and social progress. If

not handled properly, this crisis could result in a cascade of others and become a

multidimensional problem affecting economic growth, social progress and even political

security around the world. 19 Indeed, there were reports of hunger riots worldwide,

including the one in Haiti that resulted in the dismissal of Prime Minister Jacques-

douard Alexis due to skyrocketing food prices. Unsurprisingly, the 2011 Tunisian

Revolution was also borne out of hunger in addition to unemployment.

In short, food security is an important national issue that requires immediate

attention from policymakers. In the wake of the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster,Japanese people are facing escalating food shortages due to declining agricultural

production and lower self-sufficiency because the people themselves are afraid of their

own domestic products, thinking those products are contaminated. Already, food security

is severely jeopardized. If the Japanese government continues its dogmatic protectionist

policies, Japan could face the dangers of destabilized political, economic, and social

structures.

19 Alexandra Topping, "Food crisis threatens security, says UN chief,"The Guardian , April 21, 2008,http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/21/food.unitednations (accessed May 4, 2011).


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Works Cited

Arunmas, Phusadee, and Parista Yuthamanop. "Japan to invest in food security." Bangkok Post. March 18, 2011.http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/economics/227292/japan-to-invest-in-food-

security (accessed May 2, 2011).Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. "Food Security and Political Stability in theAsia-Pacific Region." Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies. September 11, 1998.http://www.apcss.org/Publications/Report_Food_Security_98.html (accessed May 4,2011).

Corcoran, Terence. "The real drivers of food and oil prices: Corcoran." National Post. April 26, 2008.http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpcomment/archive/2008/04/26/the-real-drivers-of-food-and-oil-prices-corcoran.aspx#ixzz1LI4BoXww (accessed May 4, 2011).

Fackler, Martin. "Japan Tries to Face Up to Growing Poverty Problem."The New York Times. April 21, 2010. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/world/asia/22poverty.html(accessed May 3, 2011).

FAO Agricultural and Development Economics Division. "Food Security."Policy Brief ,June 2006.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.Global hunger declining, but still unacceptably high: International hunger targets difficult to reach. News Release,Economic and Social Development Department, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations,2010.

Harf, James E., and Mark Owen Lombardi. "Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in theForeseeable Future?" InTaking Sides: Clashing Views on Global Issues , by James E.Harf and Mark Owen Lombardi, 121-122. New York City, New York: McGraw-Hill,2010.

Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Ensuring the Future of Food. Tokyo, October 3, 2008.

Matsumura, Yasuhiro. "Nutrition trends in Japan." Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition 10, no. Suppl. (2001): S40-S47.

Sears, Tim. "Carrots, Sticks, and Rice: Japan's Quest for Food Security." Journal of International Affairs (Columbia University Press) 37, no. 1 (Spring/Summer 1983): 177-190.

Statistics Bureau.Chapter 5: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Statistical Handbookof Japan 2010, Tokyo: Statistics Bureau, 2010.


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Takada, Aya. "Japan to Promote Farm Investment Overseas for Food Security." Bloomberg. April 26, 2009.http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=akj4F3JyDUrI (accessedMay 3, 2011).

Tanaka, Tetsuji, and Hosoe Nobuhiro.Productivity Shocks and National Food Security for Japan. RIETI Discussion Paper Series, Tokyo: Research Institute of Economy, Tradeand Industry (RIETI), 2008.

Topping, Alexandra. "Food crisis threatens security, says UN chief."The Guardian. April21, 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/apr/21/food.unitednations(accessed May 4, 2011).

United States Department of Agriculture. "Economic Research Service Briefing Room:Japan."United States Department of Agriculture. March 22, 2011.http://www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/Japan (accessed May 4, 2011).

Wilson, Bee. "The Last Bite: Is the World's Food System Collapsing?" InTaking Sides:Clashing Views on Global Issues , by James E. Harf and Mark Owen Lombardi, 131-137.New York City, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010.

World Health Organization. "Glossary of globalization, trade and health terms: FoodSecurity."World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/ (accessed May 4, 2011).

Yamashita, Kazuhito. "Ensuring Japans food secu rity through free trade not tariffs." East Asia Forum. March 10, 2010. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/10/ensuring-japans-food-security-through-free-trade-not-tariffs/ (accessed May 3, 2011).

Yasuaki, Yamaura. "Why Are Consumers Opposing TPP?"Consumers Union of Japan. November 3, 2010. http://www.nishoren.org/en/?p=929 (accessed May 3, 2011 ).

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