./.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/MIN(01)/ST/26
10 November 2001
(01-5600)
MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE
Fourth SessionDoha, 9 - 13 November 2001Original:  English
JAPAN
Statement Circulated by H.E. Mr Tsutomu Takebe
Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
1. I wish to extend my most sincere gratitude to the State of Qatar for hosting this important
conference.  My thanks also go to the WTO Secretariat, the city of Doha, the Organizing Committee,
as well as all who have made vigorous efforts to convene this conference.
2. Today, while globalization of economy and culture progresses rapidly, the international
society faces a number of challenges.  In this connection, I believe that the importance of the
multilateral trading system that is embodied in the WTO will become greater ever more.  For
example, the instability of global supply and demand of food remains unchanged even after the
implementation of the Uruguay Round commitments, as demonstrated by a fact that surplus of food
accumulates in developed countries, while more than 800 million people mainly in developingcountries are still suffering from malnutrition.  In order to establish a multilateral trading system that
can properly address the various problems in the 21
st Century, including economic development of the
developing countries as well as the global food security I described above, the launch of a new round
that reflects the diverse interests of each Member is called for more than anything today.  In addition,
the launch of a new round will give a strong impetus to the negotiations on agriculture which has been
conducted as a built-in-agenda since last year.
3. As the minister who is responsible for the stable supply of agricultural, forestry and fishery
products to the people, I would like to emphasize two points here.
4. First, I firmly believe that the 21st Century should be an era of peace, dignity and mutual
respect, and that the various nations and regions of the international community should coexist andmutually respect each country's specific values based on their historical and cultural backgrounds.
Agriculture is the foundation of society in every count ry, and it provides a variety of functions that are
beneficial to the society.  As there are differ ences in the natural conditions and the historical
background from one country to another, I think that the diversity and coexistence of agriculture
among various countries need to be preserved.  Various functions of agriculture towards differentnon-trade concerns, such as food security, rural development and the environment, cannot be obtained
through foreign trade but only through agricultural activities in each country.  In this regard,
Mr Chairman, it is essential that the negotiations on agriculture should be conducted based upon the
fundamental philosophy of the "coexistence of various types of agriculture", and that the results of the
negotiations should be balanced and acceptable for every country.
5. Second, Mr Chairman, I am convinced that the multilateral trading system should take full
account of such viewpoints as global environmental problems and sustainable development.  In this
regard, as for the resources that are renewable but can be depleted without proper management, such
as forestry and fishery resources, it is essential to establish a set of trade rules and disciplines whichcontributes to the sustainable utilization of such resources through the promotion of adequate resourceWT/MIN(01)/ST/26
Page 2
conservation and management.  Such rules and disciplines shall be fair and equitable both for
exporting and importing countries.
6. To conclude, Mr Chairman, I sincerely hope that we can launch a new round of trade
negotiations that reflect diverse interests of each Member, and agree on the framework for thenegotiations with which we can discuss desirable trade rules taking account of the coexistence of
various types of agriculture as well as sustainable utilization of natural resources.  I pledge that Japan
would devote itself entirely to this end.
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