TOKYO: Japan’s export engine built around cars and electronics has stalled, but the future could be using the country’s gourmet culture to cast itself as a purveyor of high-quality food. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wants to increase agriculture exports by a third in the next three years to one trillion yen ($9.62 billion), although experts say he needs to aim much higher if food is to become a mainstay export for Japan.
“Italy uses its food culture to drive food exports, and France is doing the same thing with wine,” said Katsunori Nakazawa, head of the export promotion division at the Agriculture Ministry. “I want this for Japanese food as well. If our farmers don’t sell abroad, our agricultural industry won’t grow.” The recipe seems pretty simple: better logistics, an advertising blitz and a splash of social media buzz with the tag #japanesefood — and some lobbying of foreign governments.
Japan’s total exports fell an annual 6.9% in September, a 12th straight fall, the Finance Ministry said on Monday. Shipments of cars, electronics parts and steel all declined, while exports of food rose 7.6% from a year earlier. In 2015, Japan’s food and marine products exports were worth 745.1 billion yen ($7.2 billion) according to the Agriculture Ministry, which is only 1% of total exports of 75.6 trillion yen.
