Food / Agriculture / Biotechnology

Drastically changing global conditions have seen an increased awareness of the importance of food security, in the sense of ensuring that each and every citizen has access to sufficient food for active and healthy lives into the future, including in Japan. With the uptake of SDGs internationally, there is a need for the food and agriculture sectors to be environmentally conscious and to pursue sustainability.

In this domestic and international context, Japan’s agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food-related sectors are growth industries with great potential. With increasing attention to Japanese cuisine overseas, the value of Japanese exports in these industries, which used to be labor-intensive, has been expanding rapidly in recent years, surpassing JPY 1.45 trillion yen in 2023, with a shift toward using methods that incorporate advanced technology, known as “smart agriculture, forestry and fisheries,” dramatically increasing productivity. This paradigm shift is occurring not only on the production floor but also in research and development, and biotechnological developments such as new food varieties, genetic modification, genome editing and cultured meat are progressing in Japan.

In recent years, a number of initiatives have been implemented in Japan’s agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food-related fields, such as the revision of the Basic Act on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas (known as the constitution of agricultural policy in Japan), the formulation of the MIDORI Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems, and the development and revision of laws and regulations at various ministries and agencies. Food is essential to our daily lives, and there are a wide range of players in the food supply chain from production to processing, distribution and consumption. As interest in the creation of new technology-driven businesses grows, discussions around the need for rulemaking are also increasing.

Mori Hamada helps clients respond to these trends in Japan and internationally. We offer responsive one-stop legal services not only in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and food-related fields, including agri-tech and food-tech sectors, but also in adjacent fields such as M&A, corporate, venture/start-ups, international trade, finance, distribution, antitrust, intellectual property, labor law, litigation and crisis management, and sustainability.