Source: Prime Minister’s Office of Japan
The Japanese government held the first meeting of the Japan Growth Strategy Headquarters on the 4th and announced 17 strategic sectors, including “food tech,” “synthetic biology and biotechnology,” and “artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductors.”
Prime Minister Takaichi stated that the government aims to “fundamentally reinforce Japan’s supply structure to achieve a strong economy,” emphasizing that the core of the growth strategy is “crisis-management investment.” She stressed the need to strengthen Japan’s supply capacity at its foundation through strategic public–private investments that proactively address risks and social challenges.
The government plans to finalize the “Growth Strategy” by the summer of 2026 and will soon convene the Japan Growth Strategy Council to begin examining priority areas.
The 17 strategic sectors are listed below. The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will oversee the food tech sector, and 12 experts have been appointed as members.
Going forward, each responsible minister will lead the formulation of a “public–private investment roadmap.”
The roadmap will outline investment details, timelines, and target amounts, and quantitatively demonstrate the expected economic impact on Japan, including growth rates. It aims to promote regulatory reform and create new demand and market expansion, covering everything from research and development to commercialization and international deployment.
“A historic turning point for a just food supply system”
Japan has already seen government initiatives aimed at fostering food tech as a growth industry.
Former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida stated in February 2023 that alternative-protein technologies such as cellular agriculture are “important technologies from the viewpoint of achieving a sustainable food supply,” expressing his intention to advance legislative frameworks supporting the development of Japan’s domestic food-tech industry.
Food tech has also been positioned as a priority area in the “Bioeconomy Strategy,” led by the Cabinet Office and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ “Green Food System Strategy.” However, according to Foovo’s understanding, this is the first time food tech has been designated as an independent priority field—on the same level as AI and quantum technologies—within a prime-minister-led national growth-strategy framework.
In the food-tech sector, strengthening food security and establishing sustainable production systems are key priorities. Expectations are rising for the creation of new industries through the social implementation of advanced technologies such as plant-based foods, cultivated meat and other cellular-agriculture products, precision fermentation, mycoprotein, and food robots.
Under Prime Minister Takaichi’s policy of “fundamentally strengthening supply capacity,” food tech—which had previously been treated as an initiative within individual ministries—is now expected to be fully integrated into the national-level policy framework as a strategic sector.
Kimiko Hong, Managing Director of the Good Food Institute Japan, shared the following remarks with Foovo in response to the government’s latest decision:
“The Japanese government’s designation of ‘Food tech’ as a national strategic sector marks a historic turning point for a just food supply system. It signifies that Food tech is no longer a passing trend, but has been officially recognized as a core industry underpinning Japan’s national and economic security.”
She also commented on the direction of future initiatives:
“Japan’s strength lies in its ability to foster industries from a long-term perspective. However, in this VUCA(*) era, to fully leverage that strength, it is essential to create markets through collaboration and partnership before competition.
The key will be how quickly and effectively we can integrate the vast assets and technologies of established industries with the agility and innovation of startups.”
(*) VUCA: Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
This article is an English translation of a Foovo article, published with permission from Foovo.
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