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On May 28, 2021, the Prime Minister attended the 12th Ministerial Meeting on Expansion of the Export of Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Products and Foods as a Response to Restrictions by Importing Countries at the Prime Minister’s Office.
 
At the meeting, the participants engaged in discussions on the draft plan to follow up on the action strategy for expanding the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and foods.
 
Following the discussions, the Prime Minister said,
 
 “Despite the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the annual export value of agricultural products, which stood at 450 billion yen before the change in government in 2012, has increased and doubled to around 900 billion yen last year. The export value for the January-March period this year marked a large increase of 30 percent from the previous year.
 
Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, global agricultural exports are on an expanding trend. I believe that the goal of increasing the export value to 2 trillion yen in 2025 and 5 trillion yen in 2030 is fully achievable, by implementing reforms under the idea of producing what overseas markets want.
 
Today, we discussed our course of action on reforms regarding new challenges identified in the action strategy for expanding the export, which was formulated at the end of last year, and compiled a plan to follow up on the action strategy. We listed approximately 1,300 production areas and business operators in 27 priority products, in which Japan has advantages, and we will provide intensive support for business operators which will take on the challenge of the export.
 
For example, we will set various standards for the export, such as those on the size of boxes and bottles, and designate bodies for each product by law for the branding of products made in Japan, thereby establishing a system to promote export in an ”All-Japan,“ holistic fashion.
 
We will also install low-temperature storages so that products can be exported via ports in regions and support the funding for Japanese companies when they sell and produce products overseas.
 
To carry out these measures, we will advance discussions on the revision to the Act on Facilitating the Export of Agricultural, Forestry, and Fishery Products and Food.
 
With regard to importing restrictions on Japanese foods, in the Japan-Singapore summit telephone talk the other day, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that Singapore will completely remove the remaining restrictions on agricultural products from Fukushima Prefecture. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, but 14 countries and regions impose restrictions even now. I ask for government-wide efforts to further reach out to such countries and regions under the leadership of Minister Motegi and Minister Nogami.
 
We will continue to work as one and exert all-out efforts to establish agriculture as a growth industry in rural regions, thereby raise rural incomes.”