competition with other countries for fishery product purchases is expected to affect its domestic fishery product supply on global growth in demand for such products. Specifically, the plan seeks to promote restructuring of fisheries using fishing vessels and introduce new stabilization measures for fishery operators who positively and systematically improve their ways of doing business.

In order to stably provide consumers with fresh, safe fishery products, the plan says, the Government should try to expand consumption of fishery products by enhancing producers' marketing capacity, restructuring processing and distribution sectors and developing a network to foster consumers' confidence in fishery products.

The new plan aims to boost Japan's self-sufficiency rate of fishery products for human consumption to 65% by 2017 through these policy reforms and efforts of fishery operators and consumers.

## (Promotion of roadmap-based policy reform)

In order to steadily materialize and promptly implement the policy reforms, the plan calls on the Government to release a roadmap that would specify procedures for materialization of measures and timetables for their implementation to secure the transparency and predictability of these reforms for the people. The Government is urged to manage the reform process in line with specific goals.

Directions of Policy Reforms and Relevant Measures
Promoting recovery of depleted fishery resources and responsible fishery management
-Steady promotion of resources management and restoration plans
-Enhancement of international resources management
-Improvement of the living environment of aquatic animals and plants in sea and inland waters and promotion of fish propagation and farming
Fostering and securing internationally competitive fishery operators and developing a vigorous working environment for fishery workers
-Promotion of restructuring of fisheries using fishing vessels
-Introduction of new business stabilization measures
-Promotion of new comers in fisheries
Implementing processing, distribution and consumption measures to secure stable supply of fishery products
-Development of distribution bases
-Creation of various distribution channels linking consumers to foreshores
-Positive implementation of fishery product export strategies
-Promotion of food education and fish consumption
Developing and diffusing new technologies to improve the future of fisheries industry
-Development and diffusion of new technologies meeting workplace needs
-Technology for developing and constructing energy-saving fishing vessels
-Technology for production of bluefin tuna seedlings in hatchery
-Refrigeration and deforestation technology to prevent deterioration of fish product freshness and quality
-Promotion of utilization of biomass resources
Comprehensive development of fishing ports, grounds and villages, and demonstration of multiple functions of fisheries industry and fishing villages
-Improvement of resources production capacity in exclusive economic zones
-Development of fishery product supply infrastructure
-Development of safe, vigorous fishing villages
-Demonstration of multiple functions of fisheries industry and fishing villages
Reorganizing fisheries industry groups
-Promotion of organizational, management and business reforms for fisheries cooperatives