JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Eri Hirata, Takunori Kono, Naoki Matsumoto and Ikki Kawasaki, Nishimura & Asahi
The Basic Plan also establishes key performance indi- cators (KPIs) for the financial year 2030, including food self-sufficiency, total farmland area, and the number of core farmers aged 49 or younger. 9.2 Market Adaptation and Investor Sentiment Various initiatives are under way to address challeng- es underlying the Revised Basic Act – such as labour shortages due to an ageing population, the effects of climate change, and global fluctuations in food supply and demand. From the perspective of investor senti- ments, investment in smart agriculture and agri-tech is increasing, and renewable energy-related sectors, such as solar sharing, are also attracting substantial interest. Key areas of market adaptation include the following. • Deployment of smart agriculture and agri-tech – this includes labour-saving and efficiency-enhanc- ing innovations such as drone-based fertilisation and pesticide-spraying, autonomous agricultural machinery, and data-driven crop management using sensor technology. • Export promotion – the development of premium products for overseas markets and strengthened intellectual property protection for high-value agri- cultural goods. • Environmental initiatives – the expansion of decar- bonised agriculture (eg, low-methane rice culti- vation) and agrivoltaics, as well as adaptation to climate change, such as by transitioning to heat- tolerant crop varieties. 9.3 ESG and Sustainability The MIDORI Strategy In May 2021, the MAFF formulated the MIDORI Strat- egy for sustainable food systems, a comprehensive policy package designed to achieve both enhanced productivity and sustainability in Japan’s food and agriculture sector through innovation.
Although the strategy does not impose mandatory obligations on private businesses, it lays out action- able initiatives across all stages of the food supply chain and sets 14 KPIs for 2050. For example, Japan aims to increase organic farming to 25% of all cul- tivated land. This is viewed as an ambitious target, given that, as of 2018, the share of organic farmland was only 0.5% (23,700 hectares). Green Food System Act As a legislative measure to implement the MIDORI Strategy, the Act on Promotion of Environmental Burden Reduction Business Activities for Establish- ing Environmentally Harmonised Food Systems (the “Green Food System Act”) came into force in July 2022. Under the Green Food System Act, farmers and other operators may receive prefectural governor certification for business activities that contribute to organic farming or the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Certified operators become eligible for benefits such as special depreciation for equipment investments (tax incentives) and access to financing at preferential interest rates (liquidity support). The practical use of the certification scheme has expanded significantly. By late 2024, more than 19,000 management entities had obtained certifica- tion under the Green Food System Act framework in 46 prefectures. In addition, the government continues to strengthen implementation of the MIDORI Strat- egy through initiatives such as “MIDORI BOOST”, announced in 2026, which aims to accelerate green transformation (GX) within the food and agriculture sector.
47 A GRICULTURA L LAW 20 26
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