Tokyo: The Japanese government Wednesday revised a set of key policies to strengthen the country’s food security, adopting a road map for concrete measures.

At a meeting of a related task force, the government also adopted a policy for revising the basic law on food, agriculture and rural areas for the first time since its enactment in 1999, during next year’s ordinary session of the Diet, the country’s parliament.

Japan will squarely address social challenges, such as the rapid decline in population and shortages of people engaged in agriculture, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at the meeting.

“The government will drastically review its agricultural policies in order to achieve regional growth by overcoming these challenges,” the prime minister said, showing his willingness to revise the law.

The government and the ruling coalition aim to submit a bill to revise the basic law, known as the constitution for farm policies, to the upcoming Diet session to be convened in January.

Kishida also expressed readiness for legislation designed to ensure foods in times of emergencies, secure and effectively use farmland, procure ingredients in a stable way, and promote smart agriculture.

The set of policies was initially compiled in December 2022 to support efforts to expand domestic production of fertilizers and feeds and reduce dependence on imports for wheat and soybeans. The road map includes the development of related policies.

JIJI Press