USSEC Japan recently hosted Market Journal, a TV program based out of the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.  The visit was sponsored by the Nebraska Soybean Board & the Nebraska Corn Board.  USSEC presented a soy market overview to the visitors, who traveled to Japan to interview representatives from the Japanese agricultural commodities and food industry.

The Market Journal TV crew included host Jeff Wilkerson and producer Kurtis Harms.  Their interviews in Japan covered the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, U.S. Meat Export Federation, U.S. Grains Council and USSEC Japan.  USSEC assisted them via Nebraska Center Tokyo to arrange visits to tofu and soymilk plants located near Mt. Fuji.  The TV crew also visited a miso (fermented soybean paste) company in Gunma prefecture.  USSEC was pleased to further educate Nebraska farmers about where their soybeans go, how they are used and consumed in Japan, and what policies and regulations may impact their agricultural trade.
Market Journal’s weekly television program provides relevant agricultural information to U.S. farmers and ranchers to help them be successful and profitable.  They also produce an international program, traveling abroad to show Nebraska farmers how their work locally impacts global agricultural markets, and to also demonstrate how what happens globally can impact agriculture locally.
According to Market Journal, Nebraska producers’ agricultural exports to Japan are valued at hundreds of millions of dollars each year.  Nebraska exports more of its pork and beef to Japan than to any other country in the world.  Additionally, Japan has been the top buyer of U.S. corn for many years, and the country also imports significant quantities of soybeans & wheat.
Some of the Market Journal interviews are now available online: https://marketjournal.unl.edu/japan