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The U.S.-Japan Trade Agreement, which entered into force on January 1, 2020, improved market access for U.S. products through the creation of tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) for food wheat, wheat products, malt, processed cheese, whey, glucose and fructose, potato starch, corn starch, and inulin.

The Consumer Affairs Agency (CAA) of Japan proposed three sets of revisions. First, to Japan’s maximum residue levels for 16 agricultural chemicals (Cyflumetofen, Flometoquin, Pyribencarb, Quinofumelin, Fenitrothion, Sulfachlorpyridazine...

On Monday, June 24, 2024, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of the Government of Japan (GOJ) opened a public comment period for its revision for domestic field trial requirements of genetically engineered (GE) crops.

With the aging of the population and the decline in the number of people in rural areas, securing labor in the field of agriculture has become more challenging in Japan.

In order to support the introduction of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is going to hold expert committee meetings to discuss the framework of upcoming SAF regulations.

On June 26, Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries affirmed that it would increase the tariff-rate quota volumes for butter to 14,000 MT, but would leave non-fat dry milk (NFDM) unchanged at 750 MT.

Post forecasts Japan’s 2023 chicken meat production rises marginally and overcomes surging production costs as strong demand for chicken is driven by recovery in the food service industry under a boost from returning international tourism.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries invites public comments on the proposed revision of the Japan Agricultural Standards (JAS) for soybean milk products. Comments must be submitted in Japanese by October 8, 2022.

FAS/Tokyo projects 2023 cattle stocks to expand to 3.995 million metric tons (MT) following increased production in 2021 and 2022. In the dairy sector, cow slaughter continues to increase in 2022 to adjust for excess capacity and overproduction of milk. FAS/Tokyo forecasts 2023 beef production to remain flat from 2022 at 490,000 MT.

FAS Tokyo estimates MY2022/23 wheat and rice production in Japan to decrease from last year's bumper crop due to poor weather conditions in major production regions. Due to favorable weather, Post estimates the MY2022/23 barley crop to increase from MY2021/22.

Japan held the first public meeting of the expert committee to update Japan’s biofuel target. Japan’s current on-road biofuel target expires in March 2023.

On September 9, the Government of Japan (GOJ) announced a 3.5 billion yen ($24.3 million) relief package to alleviate rising food and energy costs, funded through the Japanese Fiscal Year (JFY) 2022 reserve fund.