Japan Press Weekly

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2016 June 8 - 14 [POLITICS]

JCP lawmaker’s questioning on TPP attracts media attention

Revelations made by a Japanese Communist Party Dietmember about the issue of uninspected imported foods have been attracting much media attention.

Saito Kazuko, a JCP member of the House of Representatives, at April meetings of the Lower House Special Committee on the TPP free-trade agreement revealed that a large quantity of imported foods containing banned chemicals go on the market because the present quarantine system allows the distribution of imported farm produce before their sampling inspection results are available. In the committee meetings, she confronted the government with data showing the fact that imported tomatoes and mangoes had been sold and bought in great quantities and that these products were later found to contain residual pesticides exceeding the limits set under the Food Sanitation Act.

At first, it was only the Asahi Shimbun and Akahata that reported Saito’s statements. Then in early May, the Internet news service “Business Journal” covered this topic and Yahoo News delivered the same news also on the Internet. The monthly food magazine “Tabemono Tsushin” followed after these media and carried the story of the Saito statements.

The trade paper National Agricultural News on May 20 devoted much space to the JCP lawmaker’s objections to the TPP. It said that the JCP calls into question the existing food monitoring system as it allows the country to import products without waiting for the quarantine inspection results. The paper also said that Japan’s food imports will certainly increase if the country participates in the TPP pact, and that it will almost be impossible for the government to gain people’s understanding for the TPP ratification unless it succeeds in dispelling public concerns over the free-trade deal.

A book published in June by Takarajimasha Inc, “Gekiyasu Shokuhin no Shotai” (the truth about super-cheap foods), introduced the information the JCP representative had presented in the committee meetings. It argues that consumers should know where food products come from, what harmful ingredients they contain, and how they are produced. The book sounds an alarm over the possibility that the TPP will allow the entry of contaminated food even more than it is at present.

Past related article:
> 91% of imported food left uninspected [April 21, 2016]