Who owns the fine grapes?
December 10, 13:26
The revised Seedling Law was enacted on the 2nd of this month.
The purpose is to prevent the outflow of Japanese brand agricultural products overseas.
I once covered the fact that Shine Muscat, a high-class grape, is widely cultivated in China without knowing it.
Is this law an effective way to protect Japanese agriculture?
I want to think while looking back on the interview memo.
(Sakurako Yoshioka)
33 years of hardship
In October 2017, I was working at the Mito Broadcasting Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, and was heading to the headquarters of the National Research Facility, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization in Tsukuba.
This was to confirm the story I heard from an interviewee.
"Shine Muscat is cultivated in China without permission"
Shine Muscat is a relatively new variety that was born in 2006.
It became very popular because it can be eaten with the skin and has a high sugar content.
Some have a high price of tens of thousands of yen or more per bunch.
NARO was the developer, or creator, of Shine Muscat.
It has been 33 years since the start of development.
The crystallization of the wisdom and effort of researchers has been praised in the industry as "a talent once every 10 years" from the beginning.
It was a proud new variety suitable for the crown of "shining = shine".
After communicating the intention of the visit, the person in charge began speaking in a firm tone.
This photo was taken by NARO in Beijing in the summer of 2016 the previous year.
Upon receiving information that it is cultivated in China, a researcher was dispatched to the site in a hurry.
I was investigating.
"I couldn't bring back the leaves, but I'm sure we're Shine Muscat because of the shape
,
" he said. It's really disappointing to be imitated overseas in this way. "When
I saw the person in charge who distorted his expression, I felt that something was happening that would shake Japanese agriculture.
However, the stage is China.
Where should I start?
I was at a loss for a while.
"Grape Great" and "Shine Muscat First Year"
It wasn't until I got the internal materials of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization that investigated the route to China that made a big step forward in the interview.
Internal sources detailed the names of individuals and companies that may have been involved in the outflow of Shine Muscat.
Here is a part of the material.
Eight routes have been pointed out as possible.
It describes allegations that it has been brought to multiple locations in China since 2007.
Considering that Shine Muscat's variety registration was in 2006, it seems that there was a movement from a fairly early stage.
I searched a site in China based on internal materials.
Then, information on Shine Muscat came out one after another.
It seems that it is called "Sunlight Rose" or "Kain Jade" in Chinese name.
I searched for the third Chinese name in the table.
How.
He was introduced as a leading figure in Shine Muscat in Jiangsu Province.
Its name is "Grape Great".
Okimi means master and master in Chinese.
According to a local article, "I went to Japan many times at actual cost and built good cooperative relationships with many Japanese experts. In 2009, I was the first person to introduce Shine Muscat in Japan."
In 2013, a university in Zhejiang applied for a patent on how to grow Shine Muscat.
In 2017, "SHINE-MUSCAT UNION CHINA", an organization for producers to share cultivation techniques, was established.
Declared "the first year of Shine Muscat" and sought to improve production and quality.
As of 2017, it was cultivated in at least 24 regions of China, and it was confirmed that seedlings are sold online for about 100 to 200 yen.
Cultivation that spread faster than I imagined.
At that time, I thought that if it was made in a vast land that could not be compared with Japan, it would eventually become a threat from Japan.
So how was it brought out of Japan?
The fourth person in the table, the president of the Grape Research Institute in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture, revealed the simple facts.
"There are a lot of visits from China and South Korea. You can buy saplings anywhere. Japanese varieties go abroad with a free pass."
Shine Muscat can be increased by a technique called grafting.
You can start cultivation with just one branch.
It would be impossible to physically prevent this.
Is it illegal to take it overseas?
I would like to confirm the important points here.
What about China's actions legally?
Under the conventional seedling method, the rights of developers are extinguished when seedlings are bought at home improvement stores, so it is not illegal to take them overseas.
In addition, in order for Japanese brand agricultural products to claim their rights in China, it is necessary to register the varieties locally within 6 years from the start of distribution.
However, Shine Muscat did not have this registration in China.
And more than 6 years have passed.
The developer, NARO, did not expect it to leak overseas.
The then chief of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said:
"Originally, Japanese agriculture has developed with the idea of a farmer who shares good technology without monopolizing it. It is necessary to firmly acquire intellectual property in order to compete internationally."
No visa for coverage in China, abandoned entering the site
An outflow to China that is not illegal.
Still, I wanted to see the scene with my own eyes and proposed a Chinese location.
You need an interview visa to go to China.
First of all, I searched for a place to accept the location so that I could get an interview visa.
However, negotiations were difficult.
When I called myself NHK, I was hung up, and even if I accepted it, it was canceled.
I managed to find a partner and submitted an application to the Foreign Affairs Office, but in the end, I did not get permission.
I had no choice but to ask a local photographer to cover a farm in Henan Province.
The farm, which is 4 hectares, which is more than eight times the average size of Japan, seems to produce nearly 50 tons per year.
A farm technician said in front of the camera, "I've increased my income. The more I make it, the more it sells, so hopefully it could be five times as much."
Shine Muscat spread all over the world
I flew to Hong Kong.
I heard that Shine Muscat from China is sold in one of Asia's leading fruit markets.
I didn't need an interview visa in Hong Kong.
Shine Muscat was lined up in an easily visible place in the store, while many colorful fruits were on sale.
It seems to be a hot selling product in Hong Kong.
However, there are some that do not show the place of origin.
I checked the wrapping paper and asked the shop staff to identify it.
There was also a store where Japanese and Chinese products were lined up.
I tried to compare them.
Personally, I felt that the skin of Chinese products was harder and the sweetness was weaker than that of Japanese products.
However, the price is about one-third that of Japanese products.
I thought that some consumers would buy Chinese products if they just eat at home.
According to local distributors, it is cultivated not only in China but also along the Nile in Brazil and Egypt.
There was also information that Japanese engineers were teaching cultivation methods.
What do Japanese producers think of this situation?
We asked Mr. Kojiro Muroyama, a farmer in Okayama prefecture, who is active in producing Shine Muscat, to see the pictures taken in Hong Kong.
He told me this.
"Is it a threat if overseas consumers judge that Chinese products are equivalent to Japanese products, causing price slumps?"
The country has moved
I reported this fact in Good Morning Japan in September 2018.
Just in February of this year, the appearance of Korean strawberries in the "mogumogu time" of the athletes who participated in the curling competition of the Pyeongchang Olympics was controversial.
At that time, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Saito said, "It was bred in South Korea based on the varieties that flowed out of Japan," and the outflow of branded agricultural products overseas was regarded as a problem.
After the broadcast, questions were asked one after another by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Committee of the House of Representatives and the House of Councilors.
In 2019, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries held a study group, which led to the revision of the Seedling Law.
Two pillars in the revised Seedling Law
There are two pillars in this revised law, and there are controversies over the "prohibition of self-propagation".
I will explain it in another article, so if you are interested, please have a look there.
<Crispy Economic Q & A What will change with the revision of the Seedling Law?
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Is it possible to prevent taking it overseas?
Under the revised Seedling Law, developers can specify countries where they can export and cultivation areas in Japan, and if they are intentionally taken out to other countries, they can be punished with imprisonment for up to 10 years and a fine of up to 10 million yen.
For example, if the cultivation area is limited to Japan, if cultivation is confirmed overseas, criminal penalties will be imposed on those who intentionally bring it out.
However, the question remains.
What if I don't know who brought it out?
To the right to protect from sharing
Yumi professor Ogose of Tokyo University of Science
by providing the penalties prescribed in the "revision Seed Act is a first step to prevent overseas outflow.
However, it is difficult for people who are malicious prevent the act itself to bring the seedlings to overseas.
Outflow It is desirable for people involved in agriculture to take safety measures to protect their rights, such as measures at the border of customs, registration of varieties overseas, and acquisition of trademarks, in addition to the development of laws. "
Kojiro Muroyama, a Shine Muscat farmer in Okayama Prefecture, said,
"I think it's good to protect the rights of developers.
However, most farmers don't know the contents of the law, so explanations and cautions are given in an easy-to-understand manner. Isn't it necessary? "
Agriculture has a history of more than 10,000 years, which has been developed by sharing excellent varieties.
However, the time has come when we must consider protecting it as an intellectual property in the same way as industrial products due to globalization.
It seems that discussions are needed in the future as to how to protect Japanese agriculture, which boasts high quality.
Newsroom Election Project Reporter
Sakurako Yoshioka
Joined in 2013.
After working at the Kanazawa and Mito stations, this is an election project from September.
Originally from Nagasaki prefecture, my favorite fruit is mandarin oranges.