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Most reports acknowledge that Japan's current production and supply shortages, along with rising food safety concerns and possible longer-term radiation threats to its food production, could limit Japan's food exports while possibly increasing its need for food imports in the future. It is still not clear what effect, if any, Japan's current food supply and demand situation will have on world farm commodity markets and food prices. Unique identifying numbers for this report in the Digital Library or other systems.
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What responsibilities do I have when using this report? Dates and time periods associated with this report. Geographical information about where this report originated or about its content. Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami: Description The March 11, , earthquake and tsunami in Japan caused widespread devastation that affected many of the country's agricultural and fishery areas. Physical Description 18 pages.
Who People and organizations associated with either the creation of this report or its content. Specialist in Agricultural Policy.
Publisher Library of Congress. About Browse this Partner. Thus there should be little concern about the safety of fish caught elsewhere in Japan. For example, monitoring conducted on some fish including mackerel, in the sea around Chiba southeast Japan showed that the level of radioactive cesium was well below the set national standard. The Fisheries Agency also explained that cesium does not accumulate in the bodies of fish, as it is discharged as urine or through branchial respiration. No standard has been set for radioactive iodine as it only has a half-life of 8 days.
Concern is also growing among Japanese consumers, and TV programs have been inviting experts to explain that it is safe to eat fish. There has been a shortage of milk supply in the Tokyo metropolitan area. In addition, a shortage of paper milk cartons for retail sales is slowing distribution.
The 11 March earthquake had many deleterious environmental impacts that take a long time to recover. Of the 14, boats operating in Iwate before the tsunami, less than have been found to be operational. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries After the Great East Japan Earthquake: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries with Ministry of Finance were responsible for providing food, portable toilet, blanket, radio, gasoil, torch, dry ice and other essential things. These two photos taken over a six-month period showing aftermath of the March 11, , tsunami and its cleanup progress in Wakabayashi-ward in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, in northeastern Japan.
As for the direct damage to the dairy industry caused by the earthquake and tsunami, information is still incomplete. Tochigi prefecture, the second largest producer of fresh milk, suffered not only from the loss of cattle and pigs in mudslides caused by the earthquake, but also because power outtages have made it difficult to store milk at a low temperature.
In Iwate, power cuts and lack of heating capacity caused more than a million chickens to die of cold in the recent chilly weather. Some dairy and cattle farmers are considering closing their businesses.
Bottled water dissappeared from shops in the Kanto area after Iodine levels exceeded the national standard for infants in some of the water purifying plants in Kanto. Imported bottled water can now be sold without labels written in Japanese, making it easier and faster for foreign beverage manufactures to get product into the market. For example, Coca Cola Company imported a million cases of mineral water from Korea and start distributing it in Kanto and Tohoku areas at the end of March.
One reason that Japanese mineral water bottlers are not able to increase production to meet demand is a lack of plastic bottle caps. Major bottle cap factories were damaged in the earthquake and tsunami and cap production has dramatically decreased. Because bottlers need caps of slightly differently sizes and colors for their products, they cannot easily switch to a different cap maker.
This has become a factor in the decrease in mineral water. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare announced on March 28th that a new check of agricultural products produced in Fukushima and its neighboring prefectures revealed no radioactive ingredients above national maximum standards.