Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Japan)

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The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (農林水産省, Nōrinsuisanshō^?) a cabinet ministry in the government of Japan responsible for oversight of the agriculture, forestry and fishing industries. Its acronym is MAFF.

Contents 1 History 2 Roles 3 Gundam Controversy 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

The Constitution of the Empire of Japan provided for the creation of a Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (農商務省, Nōshōmushō^?), which was established in 1881, with Tani Tateki as its first minister.

In 1925, the commerce functions were separated out into a separate Ministry of Commerce (商工省, Shōkōshō^?), and the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (農林省, Nōrinshō^?). The ministry was also given responsibility for oversight of the Factory Law of 1903, which provided regulations for work hours and worker safety in both industrial and agricultural industries.

From 1943-1945, when the Ministry of Commerce was abolished due to the nationalization of Japanese industry for the war effort, parts of that ministry reverted to the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which was again briefly named Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (農商省, Nōshōshō^?).

In 1978, the name of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was expanded to its present form to better reflect the ministry's role in guaranteeing the Japanese public a safe food supply, and to protect producers and workers in the food production industries.

[edit] Roles

The primary function of the ministry is to set quality standards for food products, supervise commodity markets and food sales, and to undertake land reclamation and land improvement projects.

[edit] Gundam Controversy

On October 5, 2007, an employee in Japan's agriculture ministry was reprimanded for allegedly contributing 260 times to the Japanese-language Wikipedia article about Gundam. Ministry official Tsutomu Shimomura noted, “The agriculture ministry is not in charge of Gundam.” ^[1][2]

[edit] See also

• Agriculture, forestry, and fishing in Japan

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website

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