Perspectives on the Future of Japanese Agriculture - May 2004

Perspectives on the Future of Japanese Agriculture - May 2004
In 2004, Japanese agriculture was at a major turning point. The Basic Law on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas, enacted in 1999, set forth a policy to reconsider agriculture as a multifaceted industry, not only supplying food, but also industrial raw materials and energy resources. It was a policy to redefine agriculture as a multifaceted industry that not only provides food, but also industrial raw materials and energy resources.

The article describes the possibility of converting fallow and unused farmland to cultivate biomass crops in the future, and talks about a plan to produce ethanol fuel from corn, sugarcane, and sweet sorghum, as well as biodegradable plastics using fermentation technology. Japan has a high reputation worldwide for its fermentation technology, and it was hoped that this would be linked to the revitalization of local industries and rural villages.

However, there were also significant challenges. These include the public's psychological resistance to the use of food as fuel and industrial resources, and the need to develop technologies and improve efficiency in order to compete with fossil fuels on price. It was also noted that it would take time for the technology to be put into practical use, with the expectation that it would not be widely used until after 2020. Nevertheless, the vision of a future in which Japanese agriculture would shift from "producing food" to "producing resources," encouraged by the global trend to introduce renewable energy after the Kyoto Protocol, offered a ray of hope in the midst of the social unrest of the time.