With drastic fluctuations globally, the importance of food security - in the sense of ensuring continuous access to sufficient food for the proactive and salutary activities of its citizens - has been well recognized in Japan.

In addition, with the international recognition of the sustainable development goals, the food and agriculture sectors are also required to achieve environmental harmony and pursue sustainability.

Under these domestic and international circumstances, Japan's agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food-related sectors are among the industries most expected to have immense potential. Due to the increasing attention to Japanese food overseas, the value of exports of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food products has been expanding rapidly in recent years, surpassing JPY 1 trillion in 2021 for the first time and JPY 1.45 trillion in 2023. Furthermore, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, which used to be labor-intensive industries, are now shifting to become capital-intensive industries that utilize advanced technology, known as "smart” agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, which dramatically increases productivity. This paradigm shift occurs not only in on-site production but also in research and development facilities. For instance, the development of new varieties, genetic modification, genome editing, and cultured meat has been rapidly progressing in Japan.

Given these changes, in recent years, a number of policies have been announced and actively implemented across the entire government of Japan in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food-related fields, such as the amendment of the Basic Act on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, which is recognized as the “constitution of agricultural policy”, the formulation of the “Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems, MIDORI”, and the enactment and revision of related laws and regulations at various ministries and governmental agencies. As food is closely related to our daily lives, there is a wide range of players in the food supply chain - from production to processing, distribution, and consumption, which makes the policy and legal system extensive and complicated. Because of the rise in interest in the creation of new businesses using technologies, the necessity of further rulemaking is also being discussed.

Taking into account these domestic and international trends, we have established a one-stop legal service platform to provide prompt and expert legal services in agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and food-related fields, including agri-tech and food-tech, along with adjacent fields such as M&A, corporate, venture and start-up, international trade, finance, distribution and antitrust, intellectual property, labor-related regulations, litigation and crisis management, and sustainability.