Food security in an insecure world Modelling self-sufficiency

Food self-sufficiency is low in Japan. Just 40% of the country's calorie needs are met by domestic production, a rate that is much lower than most high-income, developed countries. When international supply chains are operating as expected this is not an issue, as Japan has the economic resources to import the food it needs. Dependency on the outside world poses a significant risk, however, when those supply chains are disrupted. For example, in 1973, a soybean crop failure in the USA resulted in an embargo of soybean to international consumers such as Japan; the invasion of Afghanistan by forces of the USSR in the 1980s disrupted the supply of grain. The Japanese government has long entertained policies to improve this.