Japan imports emergency supplies of butter and powdered milk

Japan has announced plans for emergency imports of 3,000 tonnes of butter and 10,000 tonnes of powdered milk, underlining its eroding food security.

Another 7,000 tonnes of butter were imported earlier this year, although the purchase of skimmed milk is a first since 1997 and the largest in Japan's history.

The ministry of agriculture has said it was forced to act due to an anticipated shortage of both staples as food companies start planning the production of cakes for the Christmas and new year seasons.

Of far more concern over the long term is the dramatic decline in domestic food production, which means that just 39 per cent of the food that Japan's residents require is grown or raised there. With the remainder imported, Japan is to a high degree vulnerable to rising world food prices, as well as the volatile cost of fuel required to bring foodstuffs in.

That position would become even more perilous should global unrest or conflict threaten the nation's supply lines.

Japan ranks 124th in global food security and that situation is expected to worsen as competition for resources intensifies.