An op-ed entitled "Industrial Hemp, a Trump Card for Decarbonization, is Being Reevaluated Overseas -- Break the Postwar Spell, " written by Morimichi IMAHORI, Director of Economic Affairs for The Sankei News, was published on January 29, 2022 (link). The op-ed argues that it is time for Japan to break its post-war curse of demonizing this annual plant, which has played a central role in Japanese culture and economic life for thousands of years. The article quotes Professor Hitoshi NITTA, Dean, Faculty of Contemporary Japanese Society, Kogakkan University (link) as saying that after World War II, "the GHQ ordered a ban of all cannabis cultivation in Japan, saying that while cannabis was banned in the U.S., Japan was growing this 'ridiculous drug'."
However, taima, as hemp is known in Japan, was widely used in multiple facets of Japanese society. Professor NITTA is also director at the Ise Asa Shinkō Kyōkai ("Association for the Promotion Ise Hemp"), based in Ise, the coastal city in central Mie Prefecture known for Ise Jingu, a massive Shintō shrine complex dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu. He describes the stem fiber, which is also used to make hemp yarn, as "the strongest plant-derived fiber." The stalks were used for clothing, fish nets, bow strings, toe strap for geta and zori (Japanese sandals), and building materials, including in the roofing materials used in the Gassho-Zukuri style represented in the UNESCO World Heritage Site Shirakawa-go. Also, a golden, lustrous fiber called "seima," is indispensable for Shinto rituals, and is used in shimenawa. Later in the article, IMAHORI quotes Takashi OKANUMA, CTO at Hemp Innovation, with regards to the CO2 sequestration abilities of hemp (research shows that hemp is twice as effective at capturing carbon as trees), and how hemp is used by European automobile manufactures to make lightweight parts, highly valued in electric vehicles (EV). The article also mentions news in Japanese policy. In January 2021, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) launched the "Study Group on Measures to Control Marijuana and Other Drugs," and in June of the same year, the report on the revision of the Marijuana Control Law stated that "there were many opinions," and that newly criminalizing use was necessary because "marijuana crimes are on the rise" (MHLW), while putting lifting the ban on medical use and regulations related to THC on the agenda. In September, MHLW also issued a notice to relax some of the requirements for cultivator licenses. Professor NITTA noted that the non-narcotic 'Tochigi Shiro' cultivar of hemp grown in Japan meets international standards of non-narcotic agricultural hemp, and should be a catalyst to move an amendment forward to the current Cannabis Control Act.
However, it is not clear when the proposed amendment to law will be submitted to the State. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), which has jurisdiction over agricultural products, is said to be questioning the expansion of the distribution of industrial hemp. On March 21, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) mentioned at a meeting of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), "We will do our best to meet the challenge the Carbon Neutral 2050," but there was no mention of industrial hemp in the materials submitted. Moves to launch a study group on hemp have begun to emerge within the LDP. According to Eikei SUZUKI, a member of the House of Representatives and former governor of Mie Prefecture, the study group will consider the protection of Japanese traditions and culture, including Shinto rituals, the promotion of hemp in agriculture and support for producers, and the promotion of its use as an industrial material for Carbon Neutral 2050.
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