{"id":1223,"date":"2017-11-10T13:50:33","date_gmt":"2017-11-10T04:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/en_cms\/?page_id=1223"},"modified":"2017-12-18T17:25:40","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T08:25:40","slug":"special26_1","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/world-hunger\/special-issue\/special26_1\/","title":{"rendered":"How Japan\u2019s food is dependent on invisible \u201cwater\u201d imports."},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Special Issue<\/h1>\n<div id=\"breadcrumb\" class=\"cf\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"\/english\/\">Home<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/english\/world-hunger\/\">World Hunger<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/english\/world-hunger\/special-issue\/\">Special Issue<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<article class=\"special\">\n<p class=\"date\">No.26\u3000\u3000\u30001 Dec. 2009<\/p>\n<h1>How Japan\u2019s food is dependent on invisible \u201cwater\u201d imports.<br \/>\n-The world water crisis and hunger-<\/h1>\n<div class=\"sns_btn\">\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share\">Tweet<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"fb-like\" data-share=\"true\" data-show-faces=\"true\" data-action=\"like\" data-layout=\"button_count\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/world-hunger\/special-issue\/special26_1\/\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div class=\"leftCol\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"530\" height=\"190\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1224\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_top.jpg\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_top.jpg 530w, https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_top-250x90.jpg 250w, https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_top-120x43.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 530px) 100vw, 530px\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"rightCol indexNav\">\n<h2>INDEX<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>P1How Japan\u2019s food is dependent on invisible \u201cwater\u201d imports.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"..\/special26_2\/\">P2How about the state of water globally?<br \/>\n-There is a silently spreading water crisis in the world-<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"..\/special26_3\/\">P3Food in Japan, linked to the world\u2019s water problems.<br \/>\n-How the world\u2019s water can be conserved-<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3>Currently across the world, there are 1.1 billion people who do not have access to safe water supplies, and efforts are being made to upgrade water systems and create wells, primarily in developing countries. Meanwhile, in Japan, livelihoods are dependent upon the enormous quantities of \u201cwater\u201d imported from abroad.<\/h3>\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div class=\"leftCol\">\n<p>The amount of water we need to consume on a daily basis to stay alive is 2.5 to 3L. If we include the amounts for other everyday life activities such as bathing, clothes washing and bathroom purposes, the total is 314L daily (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Water Resources Department, 2004).<\/p>\n<p>But this is not all the water we consume. Large quantities of \u201cwater\u201d are also necessary to produce the food on which we subsist. The implication is that Japan, which depends on imports for over half of its food supply, is using large quantities of water abroad.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightCol\"><img class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-3093\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/26_01_1.jpg\" alt=\"26_01_1\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"sTxt\">To maintain health, frequent intake of fluid is essential in a dry area like Burkina Faso<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>Water used indirectly. \u2010virtual water<\/h3>\n<p>We live in an age of copious amounts of trade crossing national borders, and the food and everyday items we consume require the input of a large amount of resources from abroad. Water is just one of those resources. If Japan were producing all the food and industrial products it imports, the amount of water necessary would be great indeed. Professor Anthony Allan of the University of London calls this hypothetical quantity of consumed water \u201cvirtual water,\u201d and he has called for the calculation of such estimates.<\/p>\n<p>This statistic is not merely the amount of water used abroad, but an effort to understand how much a country is dependent on the water of other countries, based on a calculation of how much water is \u2018saved\u2019 domestically through imports. This concept was developed during the course of research into understanding the lack of water conflict in the Middle East, despite the extreme scarcity of that resource in the region. In order to better share the earth\u2019s limited resources and avoid conflict, the concept is being used in research as a \u2018ruler\u2019 to measure current conditions.<\/p>\n<p>Looking at the breakdown of world water usage, we see that 10% is used for everyday activities, 20% is used by industry, and 70% is for agriculture. Virtual water is mostly involved in the production of food. Accordingly, when considering problems of water, we must pay attention to agriculture and food.<\/p>\n<p>For example, to produce a kg of wheat in Japan, 2,000kg (2,000L) of water are needed. The production of meat is particularly water-intensive, with the large quantities of water necessary to make feed for cattle and swine. According to research by Professor OKI Taikan\u2019s research group at the University of Tokyo, it takes 4,500L of water to produce 1kg of chicken and 6,000L for 1kg of pork. Cows are relatively longer-lived and require more feed, so the equivalent figure for beef is 20,000L. To put this in more tangible terms, one gyudon requires 2,000L of water, and a hamburger 1,000L.<\/p>\n<p>If one takes into consideration all this water consumption happening behind the scenes of food production, a Japanese person uses on average 3,000L of water per day. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, a total of 3 trillion 572 billion m\u00b3 of water were used globally in 1995, or 1,756L per person daily. Obviously, the Japanese figure of 3,000L is high.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3>The great quantities of water imported as food.<\/h3>\n<p>Because Japan\u2019s imports great quantities of food, its quantity of virtual water is also great. The amount of virtual water input via foreign countries for the year 2000 is around 64 billion m\u00b3. This is equivalent to three-quarters of the domestic annual water usage, and is greater than a year\u2019s worth of irrigation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div class=\"leftCol\"><strong>Japan\u2019s food and water imports in graphs<\/strong>With the change in Japan\u2019s eating habits has come an ever decreasing food self-sufficiency ratio*. Consumption of rice, the staple of the Japanese diet, has fallen by roughly half in 50 years, and bread and noodles have filled that gap. Consumption of meat, dairy products and oils has also increased.<\/p>\n<p>Great quantities of grain and soybeans are needed to raise the livestock used for meat and dairy products and to produce oils. The enormous amount of water Japan is using abroad to support its grain imports is apparent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sTxt\">*Due to Japan\u2019s use of a food self-sufficiency ratio calculated on the basis of calories, the self-sufficiency ratio for feed production is taken into consideration in livestock product calculations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rightCol\">\n<p>Food self-sufficiency ratios of various countries (2003)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"250\" height=\"230\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1225\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_01.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"sTxt\">Source: Food Balance Sheet, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nJapan\u2019s grain self-sufficiency ratio and grain usage breakdown (2006)<\/strong><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"530\" height=\"229\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_02.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"sTxt\">*1 Sweet corn, classified not as grain but vegetable, is not included in calculation.<br \/>\n*2 Edible oils (remaining pulp used for feed\/soy sauce production)<br \/>\n*3 Tofu (bean curd)\/Miso (fermented bean paste)\/Natto (fermented beans)<br \/>\nSource: Food Balance Sheet, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries<br \/>\nReference source: Weekly Toyo Keizai, February 23, 2008 issue<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\">\n<div class=\"leftCol\"><strong><br \/>\nVirtual water input by Japan (2000)<\/strong><br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"329\" height=\"194\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1227\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_03-1.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"rightCol\"><strong><br \/>\nProduct breakdown for the virtual water input total (100million m\u00b3\/year)<\/strong><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"166\" height=\"164\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1228\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/26_04.gif\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"sTxt\">Source: Institute of Industrial Science, the University of Tokyo,data from Professor OKI Taikan\u2019s research group<\/p>\n<div class=\"clear\"><\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"center\"><strong>NEXT<\/strong>\u3000<a href=\"..\/special26_2\/\">How about the state of water globally? -There is a silently spreading water crisis in the world-<\/a><\/p>\n<ul class=\"pPagination\">\n<li class=\"page-numbers current\">1<\/li>\n<li class=\"page-numbers\"><a href=\"..\/special26_2\/\">2<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"page-numbers\"><a href=\"..\/special26_3\/\">3<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Special Issue Home World Hunger Special Issue No.26\u3000\u3000\u30001 Dec. 2009 How Japan\u2019s food is dependent on invisible \u201c&#8230; <a class=\"view-article\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/world-hunger\/special-issue\/special26_1\/\">View Article<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":9,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-special.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1223"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2071,"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1223\/revisions\/2071"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hungerfree.net\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}