Asia Times: Genetically modified food puts Tokyo in a fix



	November 25, 1999	atimes.com

Japan

Genetically modified food puts Tokyo in a fix
By Suvendrini Kakuchi

TOKYO - Strong consumer resentment of imports of genetically modified food products has put Japan in an awkward position for next week's WTO talks in the United States. The Japanese government has expressed support for a new ''millennium round'' of trade talks for further liberalization beyond agriculture and services, but increasing demands from local consumers to clamp down on genetically modified agricultural imports are giving it pause for thought.

''In Seattle, Japan cannot step back from its position as a free-trade champion,'' Mitsuhiro Kagami, an economist at the Institute of Developing Economies here, said of Tokyo's stand at the negotiations among the world's trade ministers that start on November 29. ''But at the same time, the government realizes it cannot ignore the growing demand from local consumers to clamp down on agricultural imports,'' he explained.

Like consumers in Europe and neighboring South Korea, Japanese consumers are increasingly worried by the amount of food products that contain genetically modified material, especially corn and soybeans. Japan imports almost all of its corn and buys most of its soybean from the United States. Corn and soybean are among the most common food items that contain genetically modified material, especially crops grown in the US.

Yet the Tokyo government is loathe to take measures that will add to the already common criticism of Japan's trade policies as being too defensive of its local markets. Nor does it want to thwart Japanese companies entering the biotechnological sphere.

In an attempt to deal with the complexities it faces, the Japanese government is lobbying hard for negotiations on the regulations in the agricultural trade to cover ''multifunctionality''.

The concept links the trade in farm products to concerns, and the role played by the farming communities in the producing countries. Foreign Ministry officials point out that agriculture has a variety of roles other than producing food, such as forming natural landscapes, preserving rural land and maintaining ecosystems.

Japanese consumer unions, which have played a leading role in trying to ban imports of genetically modified food, say the government has taken the correct position on agricultural liberalization. ''It's a step forward in our campaign to get the WTO to install environmental and cultural preservation conditions into the free trade debate,'' explained Tomoko Sakuma of the Citizen's Forum 2000, a non-governmental group that will be in Seattle calling for community preservation, protection of labor and cultural rights in negotiations dealing with the service and industrial sectors.

To appease the growing movement against the entry of genetically modified food products, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has decided to require the labeling of genetically modified foods from 2001. Labels will be required when genetically modified ingredients are one of the main three in a product, and when they contribute to 5 percent of its weight.

But the United States and Australia, two major exporters of farm produce, vehemently oppose labeling. They point out that talks on the liberalization of the agricultural market must also be included in the overall negotiations on free trade, and that agriculture should not be treated separately.

Last week, local farmers joined South Korean farmers and presented a joint statement urging trade ministers in the Seattle negotiations to respect the farm policies of the two countries. The Food Safety and Farmers Union, a consumer organization, says the free trade principle in the WTO needs to pursue liberalization but with a deeper respect for the ideas and concerns of ordinary people.

''There is the opinion in Japan that the WTO is a conservative organization run by stiff government officials who are lobbied intensely by rich corporations. Many people are very disappointed with the way things are going on and have no trust in the organization,'' says Natsuko Kumasawa, spokeswoman. Still, she insists, the debate over genetically modified food has shown that consumers can still get their message through by turning away from products they do not want and ''forcing short-sighted officials'' to rethink their policies.

US officials are not happy with the thought of Japanese imports of its products with genetically modified material waning due to consumer opposition. Last week, US Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman told a press conference in Geneva that while protecting farmers ''is a legitimate aim for every country, what is not legitimate is to use that aim to maintain programs which are trade distorting.''

The Japanese government is already desperately trying to explain Japan's trade surpluses with trading partners that are accusing it of putting up barriers. ''The government is weak when it comes to cutting a better deal for local farmers in many countries because the country's industrial exports remain so high,'' one activist said, adding that Tokyo would not want to see its industrial exports hurt if other countries cut purchases out of pique.

Indeed the Japanese government is balking at too strict a labeling system for fear of being named protectionist or drawing hostile trade action, having been accused of being ''the world's largest dumper'' by US trade officials and facing an anti-dumping suit from Washington over its steel exports, .

The government also understands that it has commitments to its own companies which want to join the billion dollar biotechnology industry. In a bid to keep up with American competition, the Japanese government has earmarked $20 billion in the next five years for this effort.

(Inter Press Service)

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©1999 Asia Times Online Co., Ltd.