Japan’s tradition of agricultural production in the urban periphery stretches back to the Edo period, but the City Planning Act enacted in 1968 triggered a deterioration in the agricultural production environment in urbanization promotion areas. Urban agriculture is closely connected not only to the growing of agricultural produce, but also to communities, environmental conservation, and food education. As such, it plays an important part in food culture and communities. Following experiences including the Great East Japan Earthquake, efforts focused on rethinking agriculture in city suburbs gathered momentum, leading to the 2015 enactment of the Basic Act on the Promotion of Urban Agriculture, which removed a variety of obstacles. Now, tens of thousands of people are beginning to move into agriculture every year.

Smart agriculture is a new form of agriculture that leverages robots, AI, IoT, and other advanced technologies, with the aim of saving labor, increasing efficiency, achieving high-quality production, and reducing environmental impacts based on highly analyzed agricultural data. The term became widely known during the 2000s. Smart agriculture has evolved in various ways since then, and demonstration experiments of remote monitoring and operation of robotic agricultural machinery on virtual farms are now underway. Hopes are high that it will become the future of agriculture, because simulating crop growth conditions makes it possible to predict yields and the timing of harvests, thereby optimizing work plans.

While carbon dioxide accounts for 75% of the greenhouse gases considered the root cause of global warming, the global warming potential of methane is actually around 25 times higher than that of carbon dioxide. Wetlands and cattle burps are known sources of the gas, but approximately 10% of global methane emissions and around 40% of those in Japan stem from rice paddies. Countries throughout Asia engage in wet-rice farming, and given that their populations are increasing, we cannot ignore methane emissions from rice paddies. There is no time to lose in developing technology that increases yields while curbing methane emissions, in order to achieve sustainable rice production.

In 1999, the Basic Act on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas was enacted, to outline the direction of Japanese agriculture in the 21st century and the framework for agricultural policy. It mandated the formulation of a basic plan every five years. This Basic Act was amended in 2024, for the first time in 25 years. Forming the backdrop to this amendment were the dramatic changes in a variety of circumstances affecting agriculture, including domestic and international development, climate change, and a decline in the farming population due to the aging of agricultural workers. At the same time, initiatives focused on the agriculture of the future are also starting to emerge, such as the establishment of smart agriculture and other such sustainable food systems. Agriculture has reached a major turning point.

Sea temperatures are rising. Japanese coastal waters in particular have seen a rise of 1.28°C over the last 100 years, which is around double the increase of 0.61°C in the global average. The habitats of a variety of marine organisms have changed over this period, and the conventional ecosystem balance is breaking down. Climate change is thought to be a factor in this, but the precise reasons are still unclear at this stage. However, using environmental DNA microanalysis, it has become possible to gain an accurate understanding of current ecosystems without capturing living creatures. By learning what kinds of organisms inhabit Japanese coastal waters, we will be able to make the coastal fisheries industry more efficient.

The growth of paddy rice is affected by meteorological phenomena. Both 2023 and 2024 have seen high temperatures of a kind expected to occur just once in 30 years, resulting in rice supply shortages that have been dubbed the “Reiwa no Kome-sodo (rice shortage),” likening the situation to unrest caused by similar shortages in previous centuries. High temperatures caused by the effects of global warming are forecast to lead to further decline in both yield and quality in years to come. Combined with the impact of higher CO₂ concentrations, which are also said to be a factor in global warming, it seems likely that the deterioration in yields and quality will become even more serious than conventional projections suggest. Response measures are, however, progressing, including the development of heat-tolerant rice cultivars, and efforts to shed light on climate change processes to facilitate accurate forecasting of growth and yield.

Along with cultured meat, which is produced by culturing meat cells, meat alternatives made from materials other than meat are attracting attention as new sources of protein. Meat alternatives are currently made from legumes, but using food crops of this kind has an impact on the environment. What might offer a solution to this issue is a source of protein called mycoprotein, which is made from a fungus. It differs from conventional meat alternatives in that the microorganism itself is consumed as a food. This raises hopes that koji (Aspergillus oryzae) &mdash:— a mold cultivated in Japan since ancient times —— has the potential to become a meat alternative.

News that insects are coming under the spotlight as a new source of protein does, to be honest, make one feel rather aghast at the thought of eating bugs. However, once upon a time, Japanese people actually consumed insects as a valuable source of animal protein, as illustrated by the fact that the culture of eating creatures such as grasshoppers, silkworms, and the larvae of assorted species of aquatic insects referred to collectively as zazamushi still survives today in the Nanshin region of Nagano Prefecture, for example. Crickets are the most suitable insect for eating. Boasting a flavor described as resembling an aromatic shrimp, crickets are highly nutritious, with a protein content to rival meat. Could crickets play a part in solving food problems?

Recent years have seen progress in efforts to commercialize cultured meat —— meat cultured from the cells of livestock such as cows, pigs, and chickens. Following hot on the heels of such work are endeavors to develop what could be described as the seafood equivalent: cellular aquaculture. The basic technology is more or less the same as that used for culturing the meat of food-producing animals, relying on cell culture rather than aquaculture. Right now, startups all over the world are competing to develop technology aimed at commercializing what is also being called cell-cultured fish or cell-cultured seafood, and there are reports that tasting sessions are even taking place. Hopes are high for what could be achieved in Japan, which boasts a food culture traditionally centered on seafood and advanced fisheries technology.

Demand for meat is surging, against the background of economic development and population growth in developing countries and emerging economies. As such, the world is expected to face protein supply shortages in the near future. However, increasing our existing dependence on livestock for the production of meat is an unrealistic option due to its environmental impact. Accordingly, scientists are conducting research and development aimed at obtaining new forms of protein that will transform conventional concepts, including cultured meat produced from the cultured cells of cows, pigs, chickens, and fish, meat alternatives that use protein from plants such as soybeans and algae, and even insect-based food.