Japan's new food supply emergency measures law takes effect

Japan's new food supply emergency measures law, which took effect last week, allows the government to instruct farmers to submit plans on how they will increase production of key foods such as rice if both domestic supplies shrink and prices surge. The legislation is aimed at curbing food shortages, as the production of nutritious crops has become unstable against a backdrop of climate change and Russia's prolonged war in Ukraine, known as the "European granary" for the scale of agriculture conducted on its fertile black soil. If supply of the designated foods drops by 20 percent or more below the average and prices soar, the government can order farmers and food-related businesses to draw up and submit plans to boost production, increase imports or raise the volume of output sent to market.