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 "Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas Basic Law" enacted in 1999 was a symbolic policy shift that redefined agriculture as a "multifunctional" industry that was not limited to supplying food, but also played a role in supplying industrial raw materials and energy resources. It redefined agriculture as an industry with a "multifaceted function" that is not limited to supplying food, but also supplies industrial raw materials and energy resources.

The article begins as if to say, "In the future, Japanese agriculture will be responsible not only for the supply of food resources, but also for industrial raw materials and energy resources," and suggests the effective use of fallow land and the expansion of resource crop cultivation. Specifically, the article emphasized technologies to produce ethanol from sugar-based crops such as corn, sugarcane, and sweet sorghum, as well as the concept of producing biodegradable plastics through fermentation. At the time, Japan possessed "fermentation technology," a global strength, and the concept of linking this to the promotion of local industry and the revitalization of rural areas was a realistic one.

On the other hand, some issues were also pointed out. The idea of converting agricultural products from "food" to "industrial raw materials" was fresh, but there was psychological resistance among the public to using food as fuel, and it was said that it would take time for this idea to spread among the public. In addition, to compete with fossil fuels on price, it is essential to improve productivity and develop efficient conversion technologies, and it is expected that the full-scale spread of the technology will start after 2020.

In light of international trends at the time, this discussion was also linked to the global trend of bioenergy policy, as countries were promoting the introduction of renewable energy in response to the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, and Japan was also seeking to utilize agricultural resources from the perspective of energy security. In fact, in the late 2000s, demonstration projects for bioethanol blended gasoline were underway, and the bioplastic market was also beginning to emerge.

Thus, the 2004 article presented readers with a new role for agriculture as a "conversation about the future," and while viewing the decline of farming villages as a crisis, it also outlined a path of hope in terms of resource supply.