Kids Web Japan

Q. Besides rice, what else is grown in Japan?

A.

Japan's most important agricultural product is rice -- the country's staple food. But Japanese farmers also grow a wide assortment of other products, such as barley, beans, vegetables, and fruits.

Production of items other than rice is on a small scale, however, because of the shortage of farmers -- only 4.0% of the working population was engaged in agriculture in 2005 -- due to the mountainous nature of the land, the lack of arable land (one-fortieth the area of U.S. farmland), and high production costs.

In fiscal 2004 Japan was 95% self-sufficient in rice; the figure was 80% for vegetables, 39% for fruit, 14% for barley, and just 6% for legumes. The country is thus heavily dependent on imports to make up for shortages in domestic production. In 2005, food stuffs accounted for 9.6% of the total value of imports.

Photos courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, Shokuryo jukyu hyo (Food Supply and Demand Tables).