Photo/Illutration A drone captured wheat being harvested in Isesaki, Gunma Prefecture, on June 10, 2022. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Japan’s calorie-based food self-sufficiency rate in fiscal 2023 stood at 38 percent, unchanged for the third consecutive year, the farm ministry said.

The rate has remained at a low level for more than 10 years, prompting the government in March 2020 to set a target of raising it to 45 percent by fiscal 2030.

In the last fiscal year, domestic wheat production was up a brisk 10 percent year on year, which helped push up the self-sufficiency ratio.

However, the volume of sugar production over the same period dropped by 30 percent, as sugar beets grown in Hokkaido were affected by blight. Other factors also came into play, the farm ministry said Aug. 8.

Under an amended Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas this past May, the government outlined its policy to bolster food security and increase domestic food production.

The nation’s food self-sufficiency ratio is sharply lower than the corresponding figures for leading Western nations. For example, the figures for the United States, France and Italy are 104 percent, 121 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

“We will further promote a shift to domestic production for wheat, soybeans and vegetables for processing use, along with other crops,” farm minister Tetsushi Sakamoto said Aug. 8. “Just because the figure remains unchanged, it doesn’t mean our policy is not working effectively.”

On a production value basis, the self-sufficiency ratio rose 3 percentage points year on year to 61 percent in fiscal 2023 due to drops in the prices of imported grains, including maize.

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