Japan's imports of food products in 2000 rose 3.9 percent from the previous year to $46.05 billion, marking the second consecutive year of increase, data from the Japan External Trade Organization showed Saturday.
The increase stemmed largely from increased imports of seafood, the largest category in Japan's food purchases from abroad, as well as meat.
Imports in the two categories increased by 6.1 percent to $15.4 billion and 10.4 percent to $8.8 billion, respectively.