VZCZCXRO3281
PP RUEHFK RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHNH
DE RUEHKO #0149 0230751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 230751Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0207
INFO RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 1996
RUEHNAG/AMCONSUL NAGOYA 9889
RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 4342
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 5784
RUEHKSO/AMCONSUL SAPPORO 2555
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS TOKYO 000149 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
EEB/TPP/MTAA/ABT FOR MSZYMANSKI AND JBOBO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR ECON ETRD TBIO KPAO JA
SUBJECT: FY 2009 BIOTECHNOLOGY OUTREACH: PROPOSAL FOR 
OUTREACH FUNDS 
 
REF: STATE 129940 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Per reftel, Post seeks approximately $13,600 in 
program funding for a U.S. speaker to participate in the 
"BioJapan2009" Trade Show October 15-17, 2009.  This annual 
business-to-business event is expected to draw about 24,000 
participants and includes "food security and biotechnology" 
as one of its four themes.  Trade Show organizers have 
invited the Embassy to sponsor seminars, provide speakers, 
and staff an exhibition booth.  This project directly 
supports Mission and USG policy objectives to gain wider 
Japanese acceptance of biotech foods, extremely important not 
only to our significant bilateral trade in agricultural 
products, but also to our ability to ensure the latest 
production technologies are readily available to U.S. farmers. 
 
Why Agricultural Biotechnology in Japan Matters 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Japan is the world's largest per capita importer of 
biotech crops and the single largest market for U.S. biotech 
crops such as corn.  Japan is highly dependent on the U.S. 
for feed, importing about 15 million metric tons of U.S. corn 
and 3.3 million tons of U.S. soybeans in 2007, for a combined 
value of $3.7 billion.  Yet, Japanese consumers and retailers 
remain deeply apprehensive about agricultural biotechnology 
and reluctant to accept goods derived from biotech crops. 
Japanese regulators and other authorities, as a result, have 
taken extensive regulatory measures, including the use of 
stringent and sometimes cumbersome labeling requirements and 
exhaustive food and feed review procedures.  No 
consumer-ready foods with recognizable bio-engineered 
ingredients are sold domestically.  Moreover, the ongoing 
discussions in Japan over the safety of imported food have 
threatened, at times, to exacerbate further the already 
negative Japanese public attitudes towards agricultural 
biotech. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Given Japan's position as a major global consumer 
of biotech crops, GOJ regulators have the ability to delay or 
limit application of the production technologies available to 
U.S. farmers who meet the bulk of this demand.  Japan's 
importance in the international biotech sector combined with 
its complex regulatory system means that the low level 
presence (LLP) of an unapproved biotech event can result in 
costly testing requirements and trade disruptions.  To 
address this issue, the Biotechnology Industry Organization 
(BIO), a leading international advocacy group, has agreed 
that new biotech crops should be approved in Japan before 
they are introduced in the U.S.  Similarly, major U.S. 
organizations such as the National Corn Growers Association 
have pledged to plant only crops previously approved in Japan. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) In light of the continued, and potentially 
increased constraints in Japan's acceptance and use of 
agricultural biotech, Post requests $13,600 in funding for a 
speaker to participate in the BioJapan2009 Trade Show.  Our 
proposal is based on the following cost estimates: 
 
-- $7,600 for one coach class airfare, per diem, and 
honorarium; 
 
-- $2,000 for interpretation services; and 
 
-- $4,000 for rental of a conference hall and booth at the 
trade show. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) We similarly used EEB biotech outreach funds in FY 
2008 to support a visit by Science and Technology Special 
Adviser Dr. Nina Federoff.  Dr. Federoff engaged in a highly 
successful program to build public acceptance for biotech 
foods that included meetings with government officials, 
interviews with major media outlets, as well as public 
lectures at the Tokyo American Center and a Japanese 
government-funded research institute.  Post's POCs for this 
funding request are Paul Spencer, Senior Agricultural Attache 
(Paul.Spencer@fas.usda.gov), and Paul Horowitz, Trade Policy 
Chief (HorowitzPD@state.gov). 
ZUMWALT