Japan's food self-sufficiency rate was 39 percent in fiscal 2014 for the fifth consecutive year, failing to meet the lowered government target of 45 percent, farm ministry data showed Friday.
In the year through March, the food self-sufficiency rate remained unchanged from recent years as an increase in domestic output of wheat and soybean was offset by a decrease in demand for rice, the country's staple food mostly produced in Japan, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said.
The food self-sufficiency rate, which is based on a calorific intake basis, refers to the ratio of domestically-consumed food supplied by producers in the country. In March the government lowered the rate to 45 percent from the initial target of 50 percent amid criticism that it was unachievable.