[Provisional Translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the General Assembly of Japan's National Council for Export Promotion of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Products and Processed Foods (JAECAP 2015) held in Tokyo.

The Prime Minister said in his address,

“I would like to offer some congratulatory remarks upon the opening of JAECAP 2015.
To begin, I would like to express my heartfelt congratulations to the five people awarded for their distinguished contributions to the diffusion of Japanese food overseas. All of you have worked enthusiastically for the diffusion of Japanese food since an era when it was still not well known overseas. You have made many efforts over a long period, and have overcome various hardships. For this, you have my deep respect.

Recently, we reached an agreement in principle on the TPP. In many countries under the TPP, the tariffs on our agricultural and fisheries products will be lifted. This will be a chance for the many Japanese food products, that are our pride and that consumers overseas are already infatuated with, to spread even further throughout the markets of the world, including our delicious rice, sweet and fresh fruit, and marbled beef. The Abe Cabinet will continue to support all those working to export goods to the greatest extent of our abilities.

Since assuming the role of Prime Minister, I have taken the opportunities of my trips overseas to communicate directly with leading figures in each country about the high quality of Japanese agricultural and fisheries products and the allure of Japanese food. When I visited New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September, we provided an opportunity for numerous people there to experience our sushi culture and Japan’s sake, and everything we served was tremendously popular.

The food-themed EXPO 2015 Milano began on May 1. Tomorrow, the EXPO finally will be closed after its 184 days in operation. An average of over 10,000 people visited the Japan Pavilion each day, meaning that there was a total of 2.2 million visitors. This is one example that shows the level of attention now being paid to Japanese food is extremely high.

Last year, the value of the agricultural products exported out of Japan surpassed the record level of 600 billion yen. This year as well, we have reached 350 billion yen just in the first half of the year. However, these figures are still low, as the global food market is expanding to a scale of 340 trillion yen.

Together with Minister Moriyama and everyone in attendance today, I want to achieve 1 trillion yen in agricultural product exports, and then with that as a waypoint, I want to expand our exports even further.

In closing, I would like to conclude my congratulatory remarks by wishing everyone here continued success and good health.”