| 14. Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Industries |
 |
Agriculture
Agricultural Production Accounts for 1.4%
of GDP
Japan's so-called primary industries —agriculture, forestry,
and fisheries— are rapidly declining in their relative
importance to the economy. In 1960, this primary sector still
employed 32.7% of the working population, but this figure has
continued to decline as the nation's economic and industrial
structure has shifted into more advanced sectors. In 2002, its
share of the work force fell to 4.7%. (*1)
Agricultural production in percentage of GDP has declined dramatically,
from 9.0% in 1960 to 1.4% in 2001.(*2) The total number of farm
households was 2,981,000 as of January 2003, down 1.5% from
a year earlier. Moreover, aging of the farming population further
advanced, and the ratio of those aged 65 years or older reached
56.1% of the total as of January 2003.(*3)
Agriculture in Japan primarily involves growing rice, which
is not only the nation's staple crop but was once the basic
unit of economic value. The size of a feudal fief was expressed
in terms of how many koku of rice the land produced. A koku
is a unit of harvested grain roughly equal to 180 liters. The
history of Japanese agriculture, therefore, is the history of
rice and of technological innovations to increase rice production.
The country's overall food self-sufficiency ratio was 40% in
fiscal year 2002.(*4) On the basis of the revised Agricultural
Basic Law enacted in July 1999, the government established the
Basic Plan on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas in March 2000,
setting a target of 45% as the total food self-sufficiency
ratio (supplied calorie basis) by 2010.(*5)
The government long maintained its policy of promoting self-sufficiency
in rice and rice imports were allowed only to offset shortages
in domestic production. In April 1999, the ban on the import
of rice was removed, allowing foreign rice to be sold freely
in Japan, but only after paying a prohibitively high import
duty—set at ¥351.17 per kilogram.
In December 2002, the Government announced a major change in
its rice policy, featuring the abolishment of the 30-year-old
government control of the rice output by fiscal 2008 as well
as reforms to the subsidy programs set up for rice farmers.
This change is intended to introduce the market mechanism into
rice production.
Japan has continued to increase imports of farm products, which
jumped 41-fold in value between 1960 and 1999. In 2002, they
amounted to ¥4.3 trillion. Exports of farm products in the same
year were valued at ¥206.4 billion, down 31.7% from a year
earlier. (*6)
BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy)
In September 2001, Japan's first case of BSE (bovine spongiform
encephalopathy) was confirmed at a dairy farm in Chiba Prefecture.
This was followed by the discovery of several other cases elsewhere
in the country. The BSE problem had serious effects on the production,
distribution, and consumption of beef. In response to the growing
concern, the government in July 2002 established a special law
that provides for, among other things, a strict testing regime
to investigate the cause of death in cows and a ban on the use
of all livestock feed containing meat-and-bone meal, in order
to deal with the BSE problem. (*7)
|
|
|
Forestry
Domestic Supply of Lumber on Decline
Japan's forests account for approximately 70% of the national
land area and contain about 3.9 billion cubic meters of wood.
The number of people employed in forestry has been declining
yearly, from 439,405 in 1960 to 67,153 in 2000.(*1) Also, the
aging work force is a serious issue in this sector, with 25%
of all workers aged 65 years or over as of 2002.(*2) Recently,
however, there has been a new trend in the employment structure
with a slight increase in the number of workers in their twenties
who have moved from other sectors in urban areas.
Japan was self-sufficient in lumber supply until about 1960,
but during the high-growth years of the early 1960s, there was
a rapid expansion in the demand for housing, paper, and pulp.
While annual lumber demand in 2001 was 91.2 million cubic meters,
the domestic supply of lumber was only 16.8 million cubic meters,
a self-sufficiency ratio of 18.4%. In June 2001, the government
adopted the New Basic Law on Forest and Forestry for the purpose
of promoting sustainable management and conservation of forests,
a multifunctional role for forests, and the sound development
of the forestry industry.
Growing demand is driving Japanese imports of lumber up. In
2002 Japan imported 72.1 million cubic meters of lumber, the
major sources being North America, Russia, Southeast Asia, and
New Zealand. Previously imports were mostly in the form of logs;
now they are primarily in processed or semi-processed form.
The International Tropic Timber Organization, which handles
trade problems and environmental preservation, has its headquarters
in Yokohama. In addition, Japan actively supports technical
transfers and other assistance in the field of forestry to developing
countries through the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
and Japan International Cooperation Agency.
|
|
|
Fishing Industry
Diminishing Fishing Workers
Japan's fishing industry, as agriculture, has been declining
in recent decades. In 1975, fishing employed 0.8% of the working
population; in 2002 the figure was only 0.4%. (*1)
Japanese fishing fleets range far into the northern and southern
Pacific and even venture into the Atlantic. It was this steady
expansion of fishing grounds that largely accounted for the
sustained increase in the Japanese catch from the annual 4 million
tons of the 1930's to 6 million tons in 1960 and about 10 million
tons per year after 1972.
However, the adoption of 200-nautical-mile economic zones put
into effect worldwide in 1975 dealt a serious blow to the Japanese
fishing industry by barring Japanese boats from their traditional
fishing grounds. Japan's catch has continued on a downward trend
for the past decade, falling to 6.1 million tons in 2001.(*2)
The Japanese government negotiated user-fee schemes with the
government of Canada, New Zealand, Russia, the United States
and other countries to allow Japanese fleets to continue to
operate in these countries' economic zones. The countries in
question, however, are tightening restrictions on catches to
conserve fish stocks and promoting their own fishing industries.
Negotiations with Russia and the United States concerning Japan's
salmon- and trout-fishing operations within their zones are
growing more difficult each year. As a result, catches obtained
from fishing in distant waters, which had been the backbone
of Japanese fishing for many decades, have dwindled, falling
from nearly 4 million tons in 1973 to 0.75 million tons in 2001.(*2)
By contrast, fish imports have risen steadily, reaching a record
of 3.8 million tons, worth ¥1.76 trillion, in 2002. (*3)
The dependence of Japan's domestic seafood consumption on imports
further expanded, and the seafood self-sufficiency ratio dropped
to 49%.
In June 2001, the government enacted the Basic Fishery Law designed
to secure stable supplies of fish products and to promote the
sound development of the fishing industry. In March 2002, it
formulated the Fishery Basic Plan, which sets a target of 65%
for the seafood self-sufficiency ratio by 2012.
|
|
|
|
