Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
## I ntroduction

In Japan, a country surrounded by sea on all sides, fishery products have been one of key sources of food since early times, accounting for 20% of the people's protein consumption (40% of their animal protein consumption). Japan's per capita fishery product consumption is among the highest in the world. In this country, the fisheries industry has played a key role in managing reproducible natural resources appropriately to ensure a stable supply of quality fishery products. As such, it has played an important role in the life of the Japanese people.

The annual report on developments in the Japanese fisheries is prepared by the government as a report to the Diet under the Basic Law on the Fisheries Policy. The report is expected to contribute to deepening the understanding of the people about aspects of fisheries development and policy that have a close bearing on national life.

The report has the following structure designed to make it as easy to read and understand as possible.

The opening article entitled “Topics: Major Developments in the Fisheries in the Previous Year” introduces six major topics relevant to the past year including the current status of fishery trade negotiations, the first shipments of completely cultured tuna and recently growing efforts in the area of fishery exports.

Chapter I covers special features for the particular year. This time, we have two features: “Special Feature 1: Recent changes in the environment surrounding fishery business management and its problems” and “Special Feature 2: Current status of fishing villages and various functions of the fisheries and fishing villages.”

Special Feature 1 discusses how fishery business management recently faces growing difficulty, analyzes changes in fishery product consumption and distribution channels as factors affecting this management, and introduces efforts taken by producers.

Special Feature 2 introduces specific multiple functions of the fisheries industry and fishing villages.

Chapter II describes the developments in Japan's fisheries since FY 2003, including supply and demand for fishery products in Japan, international developments affecting Japan's fisheries, and fishery business management.
## Topics: Major Developments in the Fisheries in the Previous Year

### 1. Liberalization of fishery product trade

## -- WTO situation and EPA/FTA negotiations

The world trading system has been formed mainly through the World Trade Organization (WTO), which promotes free trade under common trade rules. Over the recent years, moves have been stepped up to conclude economic partnership agreements (EPAs) or free trade agreements (FTAs) to eliminate tariffs and implement other trade liberalization measures between particular countries or regions to complement the WTO-based trading system.

While the WTO system requires each WTO member country to apply the same trade rules including tariffs to any other member under the principle of the most-favored-nation treatment, EPAs/FTAs require only their signatories (ex. two countries for a bilateral agreement) to implement tariff elimination on virtually all kinds of trade and other economic partnership-enhancing measures under the principle of preferential treatment as provided by WTO rules.

Under the WTO, the Doha round of negotiations has been under way since November 2001 to reduce or repeal tariffs comprehensively and create balanced trade rules. At a meeting of the WTO General Council in Switzerland's Geneva in July 2004, trade ministers from Japan and many other countries discussed market access issues for agricultural, forestry and fishery products and agreed on a framework specifying major issues for future negotiations. Toward the sixth WTO ministerial conference in December 2005, negotiations will make further progress on fishery subsidies, tariffs and other measures.

In December 2004, the Korean government requested consultations with Japan under WTO rules on Japan's import quota on laver that Korea alleged to be running counter to WTO rules. As a result, a dispute settlement panel on the matter was created in March 2005 in accordance with WTO dispute settlement procedures.

EPAs/FTAs have been discussed throughout the world to complement the WTO-led multilateral free trade system. By May 2004, the number of EPAs/FTAs in force reached 150 as reported to the WTO.

Japan has concluded EPA/FTA negotiations with Singapore and Mexico. The agreement with Singapore took effect in November 2002. The pact with Mexico was to
take effect in April 2005, enabling implementation of a comprehensive set of measures including liberalization of trade in some agricultural, forestry, fishery products and other goods, trade in services, and investment.

Presently, Japan is negotiating EPAs/FTAs, which cover fishery products as well as other goods and services, with Asian countries including Korea, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines. In November 2004, Japan reached a broad agreement with the Philippines. In April 2005, Japan was to launch negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). In January 2005, Japan and Indonesia opened a meeting of a joint study group to discuss the necessity of a bilateral EPA. Industry and academic experts have taken part in the proceedings. Japan and Chile have also created a joint industry-academic-government group to discuss the feasibility of a bilateral EPA/FTA.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will deal with EPA/FTA negotiations in accordance with “the basic policy on the future promotion of economic partnership agreements” as decided on at the ministerial meeting on the promotion of economic partnerships and with the Green Asia EPA Promotion Strategy as fixed by the ministry.

In dealing with fishery trade negotiations, the ministry is endeavoring to establish trading rules contributing to the sustainable utilization of fishery resources as limited natural resources since the world's fishery resources have been deteriorating year by year.

Photo: A meeting of the WTO General Council
### 2. World’s first completely cultured tuna put on table

-- A university-born venture sells cultured tuna –

In September 2004, the world's first completely cultured bluefin tuna were shipped. The tuna were hatched at the Fisheries Laboratory of Kinki University in Wakayama Prefecture in June 2002 and had grown into one-meter, 20-kilogram fish in the following two years or so.

While natural tuna that were caught and raised at farms were already on the market, the laboratory succeeded in artificially completing a full lifecycle for tuna from spawning to hatching, growth and adulthood for the first time in the world. It took more than 30 years from 1970 to achieve this lifecycle artificially, that had been seen as difficult to complete for tuna.

Tuna resources are feared to be declining globally. Japan, which consumes one-third of the tuna caught in the world, bears some responsibility, and is making efforts to conserve and manage tuna resources. The development and improvement of artificial seed production technology is significant for securing stable supply of fishery products while attempting to conserve and increase natural resources. The successful complete culturing and shipment of bluefin tuna, a species in especially strong demand, is a great achievement for Japan as the biggest tuna-consuming country.

Completely cultured tuna that the Kinki University Fisheries Laboratory produces are marketed by a university-born business venture that was founded in February 2003 with investment by several researchers at the laboratory. Over recent years, deregulation has

stimulated efforts to found university-born ventures to utilize academic research achievements for commercial purposes. Even in the fisheries industry, there are strong hopes for future innovation through industry-university cooperation.

Photo: Completely cultured tuna on market
### 3. Say “No!” to tuna overfishing

-- WCPFC takes effect to complete global control on tuna fishing –

Tuna and other highly migratory fish stocks must be controlled by regional fisheries management organizations, each of which is established for a respective migratory range like the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Oceans. The Western and Central Pacific had been the only area outside such management. Disordered fishing of tuna species in the Western and Central Pacific (particularly, the Southern Pacific waters) can affect not only Japan's distant water fishery but also tuna species' migration to the waters around Japan.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC) $ ^{1} $ , adopted in September 2000, took effect in June 2004 six months after the number of signatories reached the qualifying $ ^{13} $ in December 2003. The implementation of the convention for the Western and Central Pacific made tuna resources in all areas in the world subject to fishing management.

After seven preparatory sessions, the first WCPFC Commission meeting took place in Micronesia in December 2004 to decide on the organization and finance of the committee, and rules and procedures for a committee that was designed to make recommendations about the conservation and management of bluefin tuna and other tuna stocks in the Northern Pacific.

Broad international trade restrictions and other actions taken through other regional fisheries management organizations are effective against illegal fishing. Therefore, Japan also will take the leadership in controlling fishing capacity and promoting measures against illegal fishing boats through the WCPFC Commission, in order to secure the sustainable utilization of tuna resources and stability of operations in the Japanese fishery industry.

Photo: A shoal of tuna
4. Squid-collecting blue LED and tuna fishing boat running by electric power

-- New technologies being introduced for fishing –

To respond to declining fishery resources and slack fish prices, the fishing industry must shift priority to profitability from amount of catches. In this respect, the industry should promote the innovation and introduction of fishing technologies with flexible way of thinking.

The light-emitting diode (LED), which features less electricity consumption and a longer service life, has already been used for traffic signals and home lighting equipment. Efforts have been launched to introduce the LED to lights for collecting liquid on fishing boats. The realization of practical use of the

Photo: Test operation of a squid fishing boat using an LED

LED for such purposes is expected to help fishermen improve their business performance and working conditions through the elimination of infrared rays and noise. It can also contribute to reducing carbon dioxide and other emissions.

In June 2004, Japan’s first tuna fishing boat with an electric propulsion system was launched. The electric propulsion system uses a electric motor to rotate propellers, requiring no independent engine. The electric motor for propulsion shares the power source (generator) with lighting equipment and freezers. The engine room size can thus

Photo: A fishing boat using an electric propulsion system (The stern bottom is slimmer with the absence of propeller shafts and rudders.)

be reduced, and a more efficient layout on the boat realized. The adoption of the electric propulsion system with no propeller shaft or rudder allows the stern bottom to become slimmer, reducing propulsion resistance and fuel consumption. The elimination of the engine also contributes to the reduction of maintenance costs and improvement in the work environment through the expansion of living space and the reduction of engine noise.

Efforts to develop and utilize such new technologies are expected to make further progress.
5. Private resources utilized to introduce sophisticated equipment at a public market

-- Special zone designation allows Shimonoseki market to make a breakthrough –

In December 2004, the Shimonoseki Special Zone for Revitalization of the Fisheries (in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture) was created with governmental authorization.

Fish market facilities are public ones that cannot be leased to any specific private businesses. This has forced private businesses to temporarily place simple refrigerators and live fish tanks at fish markets under short-term permits or locate large refrigerators and live fish tanks at non-public sites far away from public markets. Their business efficiency has thus been affected.

The designation of the special zone for deregulation has allowed the Shimonoseki fish market to lease part of its public space to private businesses. This means that private businesses can place sophisticated high-performance equipment at the market for a long time. Specifically, the market now can have live fish tanks, refrigerators and other equipment that feature sophisticated technologies enabling use of more powerful and efficient temperature-controlling functions by market participants.

The Shimonoseki market seeks to take advantage of such enhanced functions to boost the volume of fishery products it handles by more than 20 percent in five years.

The special zone designation to pave the way for the enhancement of market functions through the utilization of private sector resources is expected to help improve the freshness of fish and increase the efficiency of distribution. This means that more fresh fish will be supplied to consumers. The Shimonoseki market has thus attracted attention from various sectors including consumers who have great expectations for future developments.

Photo: Shimonoseki fish market
6. Japanese fishery products aiming at the world market

-- Fishery product producers trying to sell products in Dalian and Shanghai –

Moves have recently gained momentum to export Japanese agricultural, forestry and fishery products.

In 2003, 23 Japanese prefectures formed the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Nippon Brand Export Promotion Prefectural Council to promote exports of unique agricultural, forestry and fishery products from their respective regions. The council has expanded its membership to 40 prefectures (as of December 2004). The council members, which periodically exchange information on overseas markets, joined hands to exhibit their regional products at the Japanese booth (established under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries) for the China International Food Products and Beverage Exhibition in Shanghai in 2004.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has expanded its export promotion budget since FY 2004 to conduct surveys on foreign trading systems, dispatch overseas market development missions and support producer groups' promotion of Japanese brands for export. Under the FY 2005 budget, the ministry has further enhanced export-promotion measures by introducing measures for long-term sales promotion in export destinations and expanding the protection of intellectual property rights.

Fishermen are growingly willing not only to catch fish but also to expand their sales channels. Specifically, a Japan-China export and import promotion council for Nagasaki Prefecture's Kitamatsu region, led by fishing groups in the prefecture's Matsuura city, has made positive efforts to explore the Chinese market, including the preparation of Chinese-language leaflets introducing dishes using mackerel and horse mackerel, after finding that small mackerel and horse mackerel caught by local purse seine fishing are priced in China's Dalian higher than in Japan in the summer when China prohibits fishing with boats.

The Hokkaido Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations has been trying to export scallop, walleye pollack, chum salmon and other fishery products to Taiwan and Korea. It participated in the Qindao International Beer Festival in China's Shandong Province in August 2004 and held a Hokkaido Fishery Festival in Shanghai in January 2005, stepping up efforts to expand exports to China.

Japanese fisheries groups are thus expected to continue aggressive efforts to accurately grasp overseas demand and develop export markets.

Photo: Hokkaido Fishery Festival crowded with Shanghai citizens
### I. Special Feature 1: Recent Changes in the Environment Surrounding Fishery Business Management and its Problems

### 1. Current status of fishery business management

## (Decline in fishery operators)

In the 15 years to 2003, the number of marine fishery operators in Japan declined 30% to 132,000. A sharp decline was seen in the less-than-3-ton category for coastal fishery operators and the 50-ton-or-greater category for small and midsized fishery operators. The number of large fishery operators also decreased substantially (see Figure I-1).

Figure I-1 Change in the Number of Fishery Operators in Each Gross Tonnage Group

Source: "Fisheries Census," Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Notes: 1) The decline in the 50-100ton group is attributable not only to the reduction of boats but also to some operators' shift to the 100-200ton group under the new tonnage system (based on a law regarding the tonnage of ships that took effect in 1982).

2) Figures for 2003 are provisional.
Among marine aquaculture operators, those cultivating laver, wakame seaweed, yellowtail, pearls and mother-of-pearl shells posted a large decline. Oyster and scallop cultivators leveled off or decreased slightly (see Figure I-2).

Figure I-2 Change in the Number of Aquaculture Operators (from 1988 to 2003)

Percentage change

Source: "Fisheries Census," Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Note): Figures for 2003 are provisional.

## (Decline in fishery workers)

In the 15 years to 2003, the number of fishery workers decreased 39% to 238,000. While young male workers declined, those aged above 70 increased. Fishery working population has thus aged further (see Figure I-3).

Figure I-3 Change in the Number of Fishery Workers in Each Age Group

Source: "Fisheries Census," Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries

Note: Figures for 2003 are provisional.
## (Income and expenditure of marine fishery operators)

Fishery income at households operating coastal fishing boats has been on the decline. Their non-fishery business income from fish-processing and similar businesses is limited. They depend on wage income from non-fishery activities and non-business income like pension benefits to make up for the income shortage. Overall, their household finances are in a severe state. Their economic surplus has followed a downtrend over the past years (see Figure I-4).

Figure I-4 Change in financial conditions of coastal fishing households

Source: “Survey Report on Fishery Economy (Fishery Household Section)” (up to 2000), “Survey Report on Fishery Business Management” (from 2001 onward), MAFF

Notes: 1) For comparison with figures in and before 2000, those in and after 2001 were calculated based on figures for the less-than-10-ton group in the family fishery business management survey in the “Survey Report on Fishery Business Management.”

2) Economic surplus = disposable income − household expenses

For marine aquaculture households, meanwhile, income is unstable in the areas of yellowtail and sea bream aquaculture, which features large income and expenses, and relatively stable in the area of oyster, scallop and laver aquaculture. Income from wakame seaweed cultivation is so limited that wakame cultivators depend greatly on non-fishery income.

Small and medium-sized fishery operators have reduced wages and spending on fishing boats and fishing gear in line with a decline in fishing income. But fuel costs have fallen little. Overall, cost reductions have failed to keep up with the income decline, forcing most of these fishery operators to post fishing business losses over most of the past few years. Ordinary losses have also been seen in many recent years (see Figure I-5).
Figure I-5 Change in Financial Conditions of Small and Midsized Fishery Operators

Source: “Survey Report on Fishery Economy (Fishery Household Section)” (up to 2000), “Survey Report on Fishery Business Management” (from 2001 onward), MAFF

Notes: 1) For comparison with figures in and before 2000, those in and after 2001 were calculated based on weighted averages meeting the three fishery operator categories' shares of total fishery operators in the "Survey Report on Fishery Business Management." The three categories represent employment-based operators, companies and joint management entities.

2) Figures in and after fiscal 2001 cover the 10-20-ton category in the family business management survey.

### 2. Factors affecting fishery business management

## (Changes in consumption of fishery products)

According to the annual family income and expenditure survey, the average purchase price for 100 grams of fresh fishery products in the recent years (average of years 2001-2003) by families with at least two members declined 12.4% from a decade earlier (average price of years 1991-1993).

However, per capita annual purchases in volume remained stable between 13-14 kilograms. Looking at the trend by age group of household heads, higher age groups tended to purchase more fishery products. The fishery product purchases tend to decline until the household heads become 40 and increase after they reach 40. Later generations tend to depend more on eating out and cooked meals and reduce fishery product purchases (see Figure I-6).
Figure I-6 Per Capita Annual Fishery Product Purchases by Age Group of Household Heads

Source: “Annual Family Income and Expenditure Survey Report” (2-or-more-member households excluding agriculture, forestry and fisheries households), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

Notes: 1) Per capita purchases were calculated by dividing household purchases by the number of household members for each age group.

2) Since annual survey data (colored line plots) are for age groups of household heads by 10-year age category, a certain age group in a certain survey deemed to be the same group as the next age group up in the decade-later survey. Therefore, a dotted line linking these colored plots indicates changes in the habits of the same age group.

## (Changes in fishery product consumption patterns)

A breakdown in family food consumption by food type shows that families have increased their consumption of and dependence on cooked meals as more women have participated in society and single-person households increased. Spending on fishery and meat products for cooking use has tended to decline according to the price drops. Spending on eating out has meanwhile shifted from slow growth to zero growth over the past few years (see Figure I-7).
Figure I-7 Breakdown of Food Consumption by Food Type

Source: “Annual Family Income and Expenditure Survey Report” (2-or-more-member households excluding agriculture, forestry and fisheries households), Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

## (Changes in fishery product distribution channels)

Supermarket outlets, which are winners in the convenience food area, have expanded their share of fresh fish retail sales. Their share in 2003 was close to 70%.

Supermarket stores and restaurants have become the main demand source for fishery products as retailing and consumption patterns have changed. These large demand sources require four stable supply conditions (consistent volume, quality, prices and deliveries), increasing direct purchases from and bargaining with producers.

### 3. Producers' efforts in the business management

## (Higher value added)

Fishery cooperative associations and other groups are promoting brand development and other efforts nationwide to increase value added to their products in response to consumers' growing interest in food safety. Some are trying to construct traceability systems for fishery products.

## (Rationalization through fishery cooperative association mergers and local market integration)

Rationalization has been progressing, including mergers between fishery cooperative associations, and the integration and expansion of local markets. The number of fishery cooperative associations in coastal regions has declined 30% over the