THE KANSAS CITY KANSAN

–Sept. 24, 2002–

Editor’s note: State Sen. Chris Steineger, D-Sixth Dist., recently returned from a trip to Japan, where he studied Japanese agriculture under a fellowship from the Japan Society of New York City. Here, he reports to the community what he discovered.

Japan is the No.1 export market for Kansas with more than $1 billion in goods exported in 2000. Kansas beef is our leading export to Japan and in addition, we export wheat, soybeans, corn and aircraft.

Last year I was awarded a fellowship by the Japan Society of New York City to study food imports, dining habits, and food trends in Japan. Funded by the Japanese government and several private foundations, this nonprofit organization exists to promote awareness and cultural exchanges between the United States and Japan.

Every year after a nationwide competition, they award four public policy fellowships to Americans who will visit and study in Japan. This summer I spent two and a half months in Japan, where I met with food importers, meat processors, soybean buyers, grocery store and restaurant chains, government agency personnel, and even several members of the Japanese Parliament.

The Japanese diet consists of leaner foods, smaller portions, and with great emphasis on seafood, rice and vegetables. Beef, chicken and pork are present but fish rules! Every meal is accompanied by a bowl of white rice. Water and hot tea usually accompany meals during the day. Beer, sake and sho-chu (similar to vodka) are the beverages of choice in the evening, weekends or holidays.

Beef (gyu-niku) is to the Japanese what seafood is to Kansas Citians. It’s a premium-priced food usually reserved for special occasions.

Although there are some fast food restaurants that serve small portions of sliced beef on a bowl of rice (gyudon), or curry beef and rice for $4 to $5, beef is also served at restaurants specializing in Sukiyaki or ShabuShabu dishes which charge $50 to $150 per diner!

Grocery stores sell premium, sliced beef for 111 yen per gram. That’s about $30 per pound! Beef lovers in Kansas and Japan know that marbling (fat content) is what gives beef really good flavor.

Contrary to their healthy preferences with other foods, the Japanese are much more demanding and insistent about marbling and fat, and shoppers carefully examine the packages to pick the most marbled meat. Restaurants charge more for beef with more marbling and fat.

With the outbreak of mad cow disease in Japan, an emerging trend concerning beef and other meats is safety and surety in labeling. The ability to trace a cut of beef all the way back to the pasture it was born in will become a standard insisted upon by Japan and other customers.

Wheat, soybeans and corn are also exported for a variety of uses. The Japanese drink as much beer as Americans do, and we export wheat which is used by the brewing industry, as well as for cattle feed for the small but pricey Japanese domestic beef producers.

I toured a Kikkoman Soy Sauce plant and a neighborhood tofu maker to learn what our customers expect in the soybeans we grow and ship. Consistency in size and dryness are the No. 1 requirements. Full disclosure and labeling with regard to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the beans or their seeds is also a new requirement of these customers.

Of greatest significance is Japanese research with food starch to develop nonfood uses for agricultural crops. Starch is obtained from crops such as corn, wheat and soybeans. It is being developed as an alternative to plastics and nylon, which are based on petroleum. Auto body parts, clothing, trash bags, computer and television cases, furniture, and other items made from food starch are under development.

Although most of these products are several years away, the long-term significance is that we could lessen our dependence on foreign oil used for plastic, and create greater demand for the crops our farmers grow.

Aircraft and aircraft sub-components are also products we export to Japan. Cessna, Piper and Bombardier all assemble small planes and corporate jets in Wichita, and the Boeing plant supplies sub-assemblies and parts which are incorporated into the big jetliners assembled at Boeing-Seattle. Many of these planes are in service carrying passengers in Japan.

Japan is the world’s second largest economy, a nation equal in wealth and development to our own, and one of our toughest competitors yet best trading partners in the global competition market we live in. For Kansas and other agriculture states, Japan is a top buyer of our products. Jobs and tax revenue depend on knowing and understanding the needs of our No.1 customer.

09/2002