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 plantthe consequence of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that rocked Japan earlier this yearhas caused a food crisis in the country with 39 percent food selfsufficiency ratio. Stores are running out of meal staples like natto, 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. Yetperhaps a more important reasonJapan 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 politics that 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

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). 2 Ibid.

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 occur at all times and should not be at risk of shockssuch as economic or climate crisisor 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 get enough food? which depends largely on political, economic and social factors, and Are there enough food in the world for every one?

3 4

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

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 food security 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

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). 6 James E. Harf and Mark Owen Lombardi, "Will the World Be Able to Feed Itself in the Foreseeable Future?" in Taking 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-oilprices-corcoran.aspx#ixzz1LI4BoXww (accessed May 4, 2011).

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 needs from the worlds food stock to keep its population satisfied. This heavy reliance on imports60 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 factors outside the countrys control such as global economic downturn, climate changes, and natural disasters. In order to be selfsufficient, the government promises farmers subsidies, especially for rice, fishing, and seafood 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 selfinsufficiency. 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 becomes richer, people eat too much, and too much of the wrong thingsabove all, meat.8 Certainly, ricea crop in which Japan is self-sufficient9remains the staple food for most Japanese, but a large number

Bee Wilson, "The Last Bite: Is the World's Food System Collapsing?" in Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Global 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).

of people are turning to a Westernized diet that consists of meatproducts 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 grainfundamental to most of the worlds foodto produce.11 In order to produce a kilogram of meat, four kilograms of corn and cereal grains are used as animal feedsomething 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 food security through free trade not tariffs," East Asia Forum, March 10, 2010, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/10/ensuring-japans-food-security-through-freetrade-not-tariffs/ (accessed May 3, 2011).

Paradoxically, even when Japan is highly import-dependent, it resorts to protectionist policies to be more self-sufficient. This is a flawed logic, as well as a distinct Japanese foreign policy problem. Bad weather or a few unfavorable decisions by distant officials can directly affect what appears on Japanese dinner tables and Tokyo can do little by way of intercession.13 Rice is the most important crop in Japan, so the government imposes very high trade barrier778 percent tariff14on foreign import to lower the competition for expensive Japan-grown rice. Many reasons contribute to the high cost of domestically produced rice, and part of it is due to the production cost. It is well understood among economists that one way to lower production cost is to increase the farm size. In Japan, where a percentage of arable land is already very modest, however, farmlands are diminishing due to plummeting agricultural activities, aging farmers and urbanization. Those who still farm are divided into two camps: the part-time farm households and the full-time, farm households. Full-time households, who accounted for 22.6 percent of Japans 1.96 million commercial farm households in 2005, earn most of their income from agricultural activities. Another 61.7 percent were parttime households that earned most of their income from activities not related to farming, while 15.7 percent were part-time households with farming income exceeding nonfarming income. The statistics reveal another of Japans underlying problem: A large percentage of commercial farmers are part-time households that earned most of their income from non-farming activities, but receive the same benefits from government subsidies as those who depend their lives on farming. The lure of governments income
13

Tim Sears, "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. 14 Kazuhito Yamashita, "Ensuring Japans food security through free trade not tariffs," East Asia Forum, March 10, 2010, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/10/ensuring-japans-food-security-through-freetrade-not-tariffs/ (accessed May 3, 2011).

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 ricereducing 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 population15.7 percent, comparing to 17.1 percent in the U.S.15who still depend their lives on the crop. Suggestions to fix this 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).

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 or lease 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 20072008 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, RIETI Discussion 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 (accessed May 2, 2011).

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 Jacquesdouard 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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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 (accessed May 3, 2011). Tanaka, Tetsuji, and Hosoe Nobuhiro. Productivity Shocks and National Food Security for Japan. RIETI Discussion Paper Series, Tokyo: Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI), 2008. Topping, Alexandra. "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). 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?" In Taking 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: Food Security." World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/trade/glossary/story028/en/ (accessed May 4, 2011). Yamashita, Kazuhito. "Ensuring Japans food security through free trade not tariffs." East Asia Forum. March 10, 2010. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/10/ensuring-japansfood-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 ).