DEMARCHE DELIVERED: PROBLEMS WITH AG MINISTRY

UNCLAS TOKYO 000498 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE PASS USDA FOR FAS OA, ONA, OCRA AND OFSO/KWAINIO, MBEILLARD USTR FOR EHOLLOWAY, BCHATTIN, CBERTSCH, DSEIDBAND, AND ABURDETT STATE FOR EEB/TPP AND EAP/J E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR ETRC TBIO JA SUBJECT: DEMARCHE DELIVERED: PROBLEMS WITH AG MINISTRY STORAGE OF IMPORTED RICE REF: STATE 19794 ¶1. Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet distribution. ¶2. (SBU) Responding to demarche points contained in reftel, Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF) Staple Foods Department International Office Director Tadashi Sato stated imported rice is more susceptible to mold than Japanese domestic rice due to variables such as sea freight shipping conditions. Such rice, Sato told Embassy FAS and econoffs March 4, therefore must be subject to a higher level of scrutiny. As the "seller" of imported rice, MAFF has to take extra precautions to ensure the safety of this product, he said. Sato insisted as well that MAFF's press releases are unbiased. Emboffs strongly expressed U.S. dissatisfaction that imported rice is held to much higher inspection standards and urged equal treatment for imported and Japanese domestic rice. ¶3. (SBU) Arguing the GOJ position, Sato said the "Scientific Committee on Mold on Government-Held Rice," a group made up of researchers, scientists, and MAFF officials that convened in December 2008 following an incident involving aflatoxin-tainted rice from Thailand, had determined that imported rice is subject to certain conditions that increase the risk of mold. These conditions, Sato continued, include differences in the regulatory standards applied to producers and the lack of climate-controlled shipping containers. That most imported rice is milled also increases its susceptibility to mold, Sato stated. By comparison, Sato argued, Japanese rice is delivered to the local cooperative and stored in its facilities on a short-term basis as brown rice and immediately removed from the distribution network if mold is found. (Comment: Sato seemed to imply that because domestic rice never leaves the seller's control, it is a higher quality product. End comment.) Based on the Subcommittee's recommendations, MAFF revised its inspections procedures to include visual inspections of every bag of rice in preparation for sale from MAFF-controlled and MAFF-affiliated warehouses. ¶4. (SBU) Asked about storage conditions for the U.S. rice, Sato said the imported rice is kept in several warehouses, both those owned and operated by MAFF and subcontracted to third parties. The temperature within the storage facilities, Sato explained, is generally maintained at 15 degrees Celsius or lower, with adequate dehumidification, and that both the climate conditions and the rice itself are regularly monitored. Sato initially declined emboffs' request to provide logs recording temperature, humidity, warehouse locations, and length of time in storage, arguing the USG should "trust" MAFF to ensure the necessary conditions for storage of imported rice. He later said he would look into the feasibility of providing this information. Embassy will follow-up with him on this request. ZUMWALT