Rei Kikukawa calls for improvement of food self-sufficiency ratio

Monday 13th October, 04:21 AM JST

TOKYO —

Actress Rei Kikukawa, 30, says Japan has to improve its on food self-sufficiency ratio. Kikukawa made the remarks at a press conference for “Food Act Nippon” which is organized by the Ministry of Agriculture. Kikukawa said, “Since Japan has four different seasons, I’m very happy to enjoy different foods throughout the year.”

Japan currently imports about 60% of its food products and materials from abroad. The government has launched the project to improve the ratio to 45% by 2015.

Latest 15 of 39 Total Comments Show All

slappayuki at 04:50 PM JST - 13th October

MrDickMorris,

She never even graduated from uni. Ignore that ignorant troll.
techall at 04:59 PM JST - 13th October

slappiyuki:

According to wikipedia (if you can believe wiki), she did graduate from Todai where she studied math, agriculture and biology. That said, other Japanese personalities have been know to bestow degrees from prestegous universities upon themselves.
Bogi at 05:10 PM JST - 13th October

Japan has 4 seasons?? Wow, that's weird.
apecNetworks at 05:11 PM JST - 13th October

I agree that Japan needs to increase its level of food self sufficiency. However, I suggest a very radical approach of building massive, absolutely MASSIVE floating platforms off the coast of Japan using hydroponics, alternative energy generation and utilizing every advantage those platforms would create (example: rising sea levels). This type of thinking would become obvious by 2020, but development time/costs are huge. Thus, small increments of progress now would dramatically reduce costs.
timeon at 07:43 PM JST - 13th October

techall, believe me, there's no department in Todai where you study math, agriculture and biology. You study all kinda topics you choose first 2 years, then you choose a major. she chose architecture
techall at 09:48 PM JST - 13th October

timeon:

right you are,.... just quoting wikipedia.
Nessie at 09:53 PM JST - 13th October

I agree that Japan needs to increase its level of food self sufficiency. However, I suggest a very radical approach of building massive, absolutely MASSIVE floating platforms off the coast of Japan using hydroponics, alternative energy generation and utilizing every advantage those platforms would create (example: rising sea levels). This type of thinking would become obvious by 2020, but development time/costs are huge. Thus, small increments of progress now would dramatically reduce costs.

If you built them far enough offshore, they could double as casinos.
borscht at 10:29 PM JST - 13th October

They want to reduce reliance on foreign food by 15% in 7 years? I think they'll need to have more food poisoning scares, especially food imported from the US, Canada, and Australia (meat and wheat; fruit and veggies). They'll also need to support non-rice producers with subsidies and other incentives (free land would help). And, the biggie, they'll need to convince the consumer to eat less (well, with the falling population this might happen) and to eat less of foods they import (everything except rice). No problem - they've got a talento on the scene!
jeffrey at 12:23 AM JST - 14th October

Sammi33 at 12:23 PM JST - 13th October

Hahaha, Japan self-sufficiency. Go ahead, stop importing. I give it a month before famine sets in.

If Japan took simple steps towards further agricultural rationalization (no one wants to be a farmer anymore anyway) and mechanization, the nation could raise it self-sufficiency level by 20-30%. By all objective standards, Japan doesn't practice agriculture in any case. It is classified as "intensive gardening."
borscht at 07:22 AM JST - 14th October

jeffrey,

the nation could raise it self-sufficiency level by 20-30%.

Where did you find those figures? I'd be interested to read more about it.
30061015 at 11:10 AM JST - 14th October

What? Just because Actress Rei Kikukawa is concerned about Japan's low food sufficiency, the rest of Japan is going to listen?

I've been growing organic vegetables in Hokkaido, Japan for the last 5 years with my wife and four of our children. I have a degree in Natural Science Biology, but basically I learned farming from the locals and my own experience. Our fields were at a higher altitude with a shorter growing season, but we were able to produce a large variety of vegetables for the Tokyo market.

When I first came to Hokkaido, many of the locals thought I was crazy to do a (kikken, kitenai & kitsui) job that most Japanese refuse to do. Through this experience I gained a great respect for the hard working farmers in Hokkaido. Indeed, I came to understand that agriculture is both craft and art form in Japan.

Our children gained an invaluable real life experience beyond the Japanese educational model that continues to produce hapless youths with no hope for the future. Farming used to be a group activity in Japan involving many generations of knowledge that got kids involved at an early age. That generation and knowledge base will be gone soon.

The average age of farmers in Japan is now approaching 70 and young people prefer city life to rural living. Japan has only a small window of opportunity to “get back to the garden” and instill a new generation with an interest in agriculture. There is a total disconnect between the farm and the urban consumer. Young people have no idea where or how the food they eat is grown. Japan must recruit new farmers soon if it is going to survive. The recent rice scandal and poison milk from China has done much to awaken the public about the need to for Japan to produce safe and healthy domestic food.

In the near future, one of the only things that will matter in Japan is food production. The world is facing a looming global food crisis and Japan may not fare as well as other industrialized countries because of its heavy dependence on oil and imported foods. The exploding third world population is putting extreme pressure on the planet's finite resources.

What will happen when there is no longer a global surplus of food available to export to Japan? The Japanese consumer must realize that with every purchase of imported food, they are voting to undermine the viability of the Japanese farmer and the county’s food security. Japanese food is unique and locally grown food must be protected as a cultural asset. Global “free trade” deals that favor importation of food over Japanese food security must be renounced. Because of these trade deals, many farmers in Japan cannot support themselves in agriculture unless they take part time jobs. Japanese farms are small labor intensive operations. The critical issue is not about raising the relative competitiveness of Japanese farms in comparison with large subsidized corporate farms overseas. The key issue is to insure that farming in Japan will be an economically viable choice for future generations of farmers. Food security for Japan demands nothing less.

It goes without saying that Japan's mega cities are overcrowded; the people are stressed and overworked. The county’s bland urban landscapes are devoid of any natural beauty or spiritual connection to the land. Japan has traded its nature loving soul for unsustainable myopic materialistic "gain". The conveyor belt education system is in desperate need of change as almost a million Japanese have dropped out of life and succumbed to a reclusive hikikomori existence. It is any wonder that over 30,000 Japanese commit suicide each year and that number is increasing annually? There is a desperate need in Japan to "get back to the land" and reconnect with a value system based on integration and harmony with nature. Unfortunately, the need to become food self sufficient does not even cross the minds of a pampered generation spoiled on convenience foods, video games and fashion trends.

I applaud Rei Kikukawa for bringing up the issue. However, since words are cheap, I challenge her to find some land and farm in a small dying Hokkaido community for one year. She will enjoy her food more if she knows how hard farmers in Japan have to work so she can eat.
apecNetworks at 04:17 PM JST - 14th October

To 30061015:

Here's my 2 yens worth -

The route you detail to "get back to the land" most likely will not work internationally. I have a macro view of Japan's negotiating position in trade deals, and Japan is defensive when agriculture is up for negotiations - non competitive. Even large corporate farms may be lacking in competitiveness. For Japan to be more self sufficient in food production will require a radical change from innovation, technology, etc.... As far as the culture of farming, it will fade or it will have to be modernized as a more competitive model is developed. To some degree, I understand the importance of the farming tradition, but to survive into the future, farming will have to meet the international standards head on.
30061015 at 11:40 PM JST - 14th October

apecNetworks,Thank you for the yen:

Japan doesn't have the large chunks of land to make it competitive in the first place with say, Midwest farmers in the US. Growing food should not be an Olympic event subject to the whims of winner take all Wall Street casino capitalism.

The global model that exists now is not sustainable. As finite global oil reserves dry up, the cost of agribusiness will rise beyond the world’s ability to grow enough food at an affordable price. Prices for petrochemical fertilizers and food will inevitably climb as the global petroleum party comes to an end. In our petroleum saturated economy, a meal travel thousands of miles before it is assembled for consumption. Getting back to the land means locally grown healthy food. Knowing where your food is grown should be as important as what you eat.
presto345 at 08:18 PM JST - 15th October

Farmers are getting rock bottom prices for their produce. So do the fishermen. Changing the distribution system would lower prices for the consumers. Cutting out the middlemen would raise income for the farmers. That way you can increase domestic production. Another point is that people seem to be willing to spend fortunes on 1)surface transportation: their status symbol the automobile; 2) AV systems; 3) unnecessary and time wasting communication: the omnipresent all demanding cell phone. I'm sure you can think of some more examples. Spending reasonable amounts of money on healthy food is not on the list. Comparing food prices with those in other countries, like those for quality B or C for rice in other Asian countries, or the potatoes in Poland, or subsidized produce where ever is quite meaningless. I agree with 30061015 (!) when (s)he says: Getting back to the land means locally grown healthy food. Knowing where your food is grown should be as important as what you eat. About the 4 seasons. It has taken me by surprise also that many Japanese do not seem to be aware of the fact that many countries in this world have 4 seasons, but it isn't that strange, because many Asian countries have only 2. Anyway, we should consume the food each season brings us. Don't eat summer vegetables in winter, for example. Raising food awareness is all important and this is one thing Kikukawa is doing. It's easy to bash someone you have never met. If you feel you have something meaningful to contribute, do it to her face.
Badsey at 08:33 PM JST - 17th October

it is always smart to head-off a crisis instead of getting stuck in one. Food prices are high and wages are stagnate. Most foods are 98% sun = any city dweller with good sunlight can farm. Let your food scraps and unedibles rot and mix them back into the soil = your 2% the sun can't give you. Anyone can grow tomatos in a nice large pot and a stick.

Masanobu Fukuoka (Japan's Greatest Farmer)