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August 07, 2026
 

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MAFF

Shine Muscat grapes
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 17, 2026
Japan passes bill to prevent unauthorized overseas crop sales
The bill aims to better protect the rights related to Japan-developed fruits that are popular overseas and prevent a loss of profit.
Representatives of organizations behind products newly registered as geographical indications (GI), including Japanese tea, pose with Vice Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yuhei Yamashita (second from right) at the ministry on Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2026
Government registers ¡®Japanese tea¡¯ under brand protection system
The agriculture ministry aims to combat intellectual property infringement by imitation products amid a global boom in matcha.
Japanese agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki promotes Japanese rice at a supermarket near Paris on Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2026
Japan¡¯s farm minister promotes Japanese rice in France
Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki handed out rice balls made from Japanese rice to shoppers during a Japanese food fair.
The national average price of a packet of 10 eggs stood at ?309, matching the highest level marked in March and May.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 17, 2026
Prices of chicken and eggs in Japan hit record highs
The national average price of chicken rose has risen to ?155 per 100 grams while that of a packet of 10 eggs is now at ?309.
Grilled <i>kabayaki</i> using fully farmed eel shown at the agriculture ministry on Tuesday
JAPAN
May 20, 2026
Japan to sell eels bred in captivity in ¡®world first¡¯
The move could ease eventually pressure on the endangered fish
Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki (far right) exchanges views on overseas expansion while holding a matcha latte, on Thursday in Tokyo&#039;s Taito Ward.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2026
Agriculture minister visits Tokyo matcha cafe as Iran war affects tea production
Tea producers are increasingly concerned about procuring the fuel needed in April-June for work such as drying harvested tea leaves amid Middle East tensions.
Organic food is less common in Japan than in the U.K., with about 70% of what is available in the country being imported.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 1, 2026
In Japan, strong state-led certification key to boosting organic food uptake
Japanese and U.K. researchers have found that having a transparent government-certified system may help encourage more people to buy organic food products.
A juvenile yellowtail that was hatched from an artificially retrieved egg
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2026
Major conveyor-belt sushi chains boost efforts to revitalize fisheries
In 2024, Japan¡¯s marine fishery catch stood at 2.78 million metric tons, about a quarter of the peak level of 11.5 million tons in 1984.
Bags of rice at a supermarket in Yokohama. Japan's staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover "supply shortages due to falling production."
JAPAN
Feb 16, 2026
Rice prices remain high in Japan even after stockpile releases
The country¡¯s staple food law stipulates that releases of government-stockpiled rice be used to cover ¡°supply shortages due to falling production.¡±
Japan's exports of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food rose 12.8% from the previous year to a record ?1.7 trillion in 2025, though they fell short of the government¡¯s ?2 trillion target, the agriculture ministry said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Feb 3, 2026
Japan¡¯s farm, food and fishery exports in 2025 set record for 13th year
The total failed to reach the government¡¯s target of ?2 trillion for 2025 even though exports to all top 10 destinations increased year on year.
Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki (left) exchanges views with a French man who owns an onigiri shop (right) on Thursday in Paris.
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2026
Farm minister Suzuki visits Paris to promote rice exports
Suzuki emphasized that securing sales channels overseas will make it easier for Japanese farmers to produce rice stably.
Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki (far right) visits the Japanese unit of U.S. company Oishii Farm and delivers greetings in Hamura, Tokyo, on Monday.
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2026
Japan¡¯s farm minister visits plant factory developer
Norikazu Suzuki examined strawberry and other plant varieties being developed exclusively for plant factories.
Toshiyuki Namigai (left) shows tatami sheets of varying thickness to a client, Swedish entrepreneur Anton Wormann, at Namigai's store in Tokyo in December.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 30, 2025
Amid uncertainty at home, tatami-makers find a new market: foreign buyers
Businesses focused on the traditional flooring material are evolving product offerings and marketing goods overseas, hoping to keep their craft alive.
Farm minister Norikazu Suzuki stresses the need to secure demand for rice first, including foreign demand, and then promote production.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Dec 28, 2025
Japan¡¯s rice policy at crossroads amid output shift and high prices
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi¡¯s policy is to keep production in line with demand, reversing her predecessor¡¯s approach.
Fisheries minister Norikazu Suzuki explains measures to support oyster farmers during a news conference at the ministry on Thursday.
JAPAN
Dec 12, 2025
Japan unveils measures to tackle mass oyster deaths
The measures include financially supporting affected oyster farmers and identifying the cause of the mass deaths.
In the week ended last Sunday, the average price of rice sold at about 1,000 supermarkets across Japan rose by ?23 from the previous week to ?4,335 per 5 kilograms.
BUSINESS
Dec 6, 2025
Average price of rice in Japan hits new record high
The average retail price of the staple grain hit a new record high for the first time in three weeks, according to agriculture ministry data.
Dry-cured salted ham offered at Bar Mar's restaurant in Tokyo on Wednesday
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2025
Dry-cured ham may run short in Japan as swine fever risk halts Spanish imports
After the disease was detected in wild boar in Spain, Japan halted Spanish pork imports last Friday to prevent local transmission.
Agriculture minister Norikazu Suzuki (center) looks at dead oysters in the city of Higashihiroshima, Hiroshima Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 20, 2025
Hiroshima oyster farmers face crisis amid mass die-offs
Producers in coastal areas of the city of Higashihiroshima have reported mortality rates of 80% to 90%, prompting fears about the industry¡¯s survival.
The latest forecast of 7,468,000 tons of rice reflected the status at around 98% completion of harvesting in Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2025
Japan¡¯s rice harvest forecast to rise 10% in 2025
If the forecast of 7,468,000 tons as of Oct. 25 is realized, it will be the largest harvest in Japan since 2017.
A farmer harvests rice in a field in Chikusei, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Oct. 9. Prices will most likely remain in the ?4,000 range for 5 kilograms?of the grain at least until the 2026 harvest is released next summer.
JAPAN / Society / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2025
New Cabinet searches for effective rice policy amid resurging prices
Officials are considering the distribution of ¡°rice tickets¡± to make the nation¡¯s staple grain more affordable for certain households.
North Korean missile unit deploys in Russia for Ukraine war, Kyiv says
A man photographs parts of an unidentified missile, which Ukrainian authorities believe to be made in North Korea and was used in a strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine, in January 2024.
Japan to add five-year stay period for Type 2 foreign workers
Holders of the Type 2 specified skilled foreign worker status are currently granted periods of stay for six months, one year, two years or three years.
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Support for accepting more foreign workers in Japan drops below 60%
The results of a public opinion poll conducted in May suggests that a growing number of people are becoming cautious about accepting more foreign workers.
U.S. to close consulates in Canada, Japan and Indonesia, sources say
The U.S. State Department said in a notice ?sent to some congressional committees last week that it plans to close ?its posts ?in St. George&#039;s, Grenada; Nagoya, Japan; Medan, Indonesia; Douala, Cameroon; and Winnipeg, Canada. ?
Current permanent residency applications to be judged using new income criteria
Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Disinformation abounds online in aftermath of Kumamoto quake
Television screens in Tokyo show news coverage of a powerful earthquake hitting Kumamoto Prefecture on July 28. Some social media accounts have claimed that shaky footage of the quake was fake.
Japan defense report says China challenge must be met with ¡®overall national strength¡¯
Ground Self-Defense Force soldiers walk in front of a Type 88 surface-to-ship missile launcher, during the Balikatan annual joint military exercises at Culili Point Sand Dunes, in Paoay, Philippines, on May 6.
A pressing question on the front lines in Kumamoto: Who cares for the caregivers?
Tomoko Sato, the chief of emergency medicine at Saiseikai Kumamoto Hospital, brought her two children to the hospital so she could continue treating patients following the Kumamoto earthquake.
For Japan¡¯s aging homeless population, brutal summers are dangerously inescapable
A homeless person near Shinjuku Station in Tokyo. Authorities have warned the public to avoid unnecessary outings and advised people to stay in air-conditioned spaces, but for people who are homeless this is often not an option.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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