It turned out that the "Japan Grain Inspection Association", which handles grain inspection, etc., was conducting fraudulent inspections in the quality inspection of imported rice.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has decided to issue a three-month suspension order to the Japan Grain Inspection Association regarding inspections of foreign agricultural products.
The Kansai Kobe branch of the "Japan Grain Inspection Association" said that in the quality inspection of imported rice conducted from July to August this year, there was an abnormality such as part of it getting wet with water and mold growing. It is said that a false certificate was issued stating that there was no quality problem.
At the association's Kansai Kobe branch, not only the inspector who conducted the inspection but also the top branch manager knew about the fraud, but they did not report it to the headquarters and systematically hid the inspection fraud. .
However, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has decided to issue a three-month suspension order to the association regarding operations related to quality inspections of foreign agricultural products, as the fraud was discovered by a whistleblower.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the imported rice was imported from the United States and Thailand under the minimum access system in which Japan imposes high tariffs on rice while obliging it to import a certain amount. is managed by and is not distributed in the market.
Regarding the reason for the fraud, the association said, "The site was confused due to busy work."
The Japan Grain Inspection Association is an organization that conducts a "taste ranking" that examines the taste of produced rice every year. A business improvement order has been issued.
Japan Grain Inspection Association "Working to prevent recurrence to fulfill its responsibility"
An official of the Japan Grain Inspection Association told NHK, "It is true that the certificate was issued in the end even though the association's staff confirmed the occurrence of mold and other problems at the site. I would like to work on preventing recurrence in order to fulfill this."