Japanese consumers are extremely concerned about the safety of their food.
Japanese farmers, who grow an abundance of citrus products, are extremely concerned about fruit flies. The government has been very responsive to the concerns of these two groups, and, consequently, Japan has some of the strictest phytosanitary regulations in the world. Fruits and vegetables are banned from entering Japan unless they enter from an area that has been certified by the Japanese government as pest-free or have been treated according to methods approved by the Japanese government. Bans may be lifted, but often at great expense to exporters. Thailand and the Philippines, for example, have bought expensive Japanese equipment to treat their mangoes for fruit flies.