Some key issues for the East Asian food sector

Abstract

This collection of five papers constitutes the second of two volumes on Japanese agricultural policy. The first paper, by Masayoshi Honma, looks at agricultural policy reform in Japan from a political economy perspective, especially in respect of the implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreement and the next round of negotiations. Ray Trewin then picks up the implications of East Asian approaches to food security for the next WTO round, mainly contrasting Japan’s self-sufficiency approach with China’s more open trade and investment policies. Regional arrangements to address food security are promoted in the paper. A paper by Malcolm Bosworth and Leanne Holmes develops and applies a framework for assessing the costs and benefits of Japan’s sanitary and phytosanity (SPS) measures, especially in respect of the WTO SPS agreement. The implication for Japan’s SPS policies are drawn out in the paper. Randy Stringer looks at the constraining role of land institutions and regulations, which are similar in East Asia, on structural adjustment, especially in agriculture, and the costs and benefits of such institutions and regulations. The final paper, by Yoshihisa Godo, explains, for the first time in English, the reasons behind the small size of Japanese farming that has constrained productivity, and the distortions in land use and farm output caused by farmland use regulations and taxation. Desirable directions for Japanese agricultural policy reform are also discussed in the paper. It is expected that this collection of papers will assist Australian and Japanese agencies and businesses, and those from other countries, to develop strategies for improving Japanese agricultural policies during the upcoming WTO round.