Japan News Update #37 (26 Sept - 3 Oct, 2022)

Food market trends

Price rises in October are expected for over 6,500 food items amid surging materials costs and a weakening yen. The consumer price index rose in August at a high rate not seen in some 31 years. While households feel the pinch from surging prices, domestic wage levels remain stagnant. Rising costs seem to deter consumer spending, which had finally been showing signs of recovery since the coronavirus outbreak. There is mounting concern over whether household finances and the Japanese economy can endure the autumn price hikes.

Source: More food price hikes in Japan to deal further blow to family finances, Higher restaurant prices add to pressure on Japanese consumers, Wallets in Japan take another hit as prices hiked for thousands of food items

Meat and meat alternatives in Japan

BugMo, a Kyoto-based startup that develops crocket protein, will launch burger-soup combos for 1,000 yen ($6.96) in October. The key to recreating the flavour of animal flesh with substitute proteins was smashing the insects into precisely the proper size particles. The company spent a year determining the perfect size to replicate the umami flavour of actual hamburgers.

Source: Kyoto startup is eager for you to try its umami-rich cricket burger

Meat production in Japan is undergoing radical changes. For example, in Kagoshima, a top production region of wagyu beef, farmers raise Wagyu cows equipped with satellite hookups developed by Kagoshima University. Cattle feed also is beginning to sourced] from import to local and sustainable. In addition, Tsukuba University developed a new alternative for meat: meat-like patties made from koji (a mold typically used in the production process of products like sake, miso and soy sauce).

Source: [IN DEPTH] Food Producers Look to the Future

Japan's agricultural policy movements for sustainability

By 2024, Japan's agricultural ministry (MAFF) plans to designate 50 places around the country as model regions for implementing advanced carbon-reduction techniques. It tries to encourage animal manure as compost and organic farming to minimise dependency on chemical fertilisers, which generate greenhouse gases when produced.

Source: Japan farm ministry to set up model decarbonisation zones

Japan's government drives to reduce food waste. MAFF’s Minister asked food-production firms to review the so-called "one-third rule" industry practice. Traditionally, retailers have requested manufacturers to supply only items within the first third of a period between the production and expiration dates. However, one-third rule results in significant food waste. The Minister also requested businesses to contribute more to food banks.

Source: Govt. calls for industry drive to reduce food loss

Trends of Japan’s food firms

Ezaki Glico, a century-old snack food maker, will use artificial intelligence to create healthier food components. Through extensive data collecting and machine learning, AI assists in finding the ideal balance of flavour and nutrients. The food industry is notoriously frugal. So the company intends to reinvent itself by incorporating elite talent from Japan's AI industry.

Source: Top AI guru is helping retool popular Japanese snacks for Ezaki Glico

Smart Kitchen Summit Japan (SKS JAPAN) was held from September 1 to 3, 2022, with the theme of tackling food challenges and the future of food. This year's event was marked by joint businesses between major companies and food tech startups. For example, U.S.M. Holdings (USMH), an AEON subsidiary's supermarket, has launched a plant factory in collaboration with PLANTX, a Tokyo-based agri-tech startup that designs and manufactures original “Closed-type” plant production machines, which are used for indoor vertical farming. USMH also collaborates with Beyond Meat, a US-based startup.

Source: Accelerating Foodtech through startup co-creation with major Japanese firms

Japanese companies have begun to quantify and disclose their positive impact on the environment and society through their operations. This is in response to investor demand for more specific disclosure of ESG (Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance) initiatives. For example, Ajinomoto has started to quantify the effect of salt reduction by Umami since FY2020. In global trend, Swiss food giant Nestlé has set a goal of creating jobs and other opportunities for 10 million young people by 30 years to secure the next generation of farmers.

Source: Japanese firms start to quantities their businesses’ ESG effects

UPay, a Fukuoka-based startup, has developed straws made of rice in response to the trend away from plastics. The straws are moulded from a 7:3 mixture of rice flour and cornstarch. The straws can be made from crushed rice produced during milling and biodegrade in about 100 days. They are tasteless and odourless and can be used even after being soaked in water for six hours. The ingredients are all edible, and there is no problem even if they are boiled and eaten after use.

Source: De-plastic straw made from rice

New technology for developing climate-responsive crop varieties

National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) has developed an "artificial weather chamber" capable of measuring and analysing crop responses to climate change. The compact design, with a width and depth of roughly 1.7 metres and 1.9 metres, respectively, and a height of approximately 1.9 metres, enables installation even in small locations. As a result, NARO intends to produce crop varieties that are more resistant to high temperatures caused by global warming, including vegetables, strawberries, and the critical cereal staples rice, wheat, and soybeans.

Source: NARO develops phytotrons for new crop varieties that can withstand climate change