TOKYO, Sept 26 – Japan’s Minister of Agriculture, Shinjiro Koizumi, has come under scrutiny after his ministry entered into preliminary discussions with New Zealand about growing Japan’s highly prized Shine Muscat grapes abroad. The move has triggered concern among domestic producers, who were not consulted in advance.
The Shine Muscat, a luxuriously sweet and seedless grape with a crisp texture, is considered a crown jewel of Japanese agriculture — especially in Yamanashi Prefecture, where it is a key export crop and source of pride for local farmers. The grape’s reputation has been built over decades through painstaking research, time, and care — starting as far back as the late 1980s.
But now, tensions are rising.
At a press conference, Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki, alongside representatives from the local agricultural cooperative, publicly criticized the Ministry of Agriculture for holding overseas cultivation discussions without the prior input or consent of domestic producers. They met Koizumi directly to raise the issue and call for a stronger focus on expanding international export markets rather than licensing cultivation to foreign growers.
In response, Koizumi emphasized that no cultivation license had been granted yet — nor would any be issued without the involvement and understanding of the regions that grow Shine Muscats.
“Governor Nagasaki has asked us to increase the number of countries where we can export Shine Muscats, and I completely agree,” Koizumi stated. “We would never proceed with any licensing without fully engaging producers and governors.”
He added that the licensing policy is part of a broader government strategy approved by the cabinet earlier this year to promote specific agricultural products — but only with the cooperation of stakeholders.
The Shine Muscat grape, developed by national agricultural institutions over nearly 30 years, has become a symbol of Japan’s agricultural innovation and potential in global markets. However, due to early gaps in international protections, the variety has already been cultivated and exported by countries like China and South Korea, leading Japan to pass laws in 2021 to curb overseas sale of seedlings.
A Deeper Concern: More Than Just Grapes
This issue is more than a trade debate — it’s about protecting identity, legacy, and local livelihoods. For farmers who have poured their heart into perfecting Shine Muscats for generations, the idea of their creation being reproduced elsewhere without their voice in the process feels like a betrayal.
At a time when Japan is trying to balance global ambitions with preserving local industries, this controversy serves as a crucial reminder: progress without partnership risks alienating those who made the progress possible in the first place.
Let’s not forget — behind every grape lies the effort, sweat, and dreams of real people.
