Fifth General Meeting of the Vege Council Japan
The fifth official Vege Council Japan meeting was held on Friday 19th February 2021 at the Second Members Building of the House of Representatives. Tokyo Vegan organizers, Nadia, Saori and Kano attended this time.
The main topics on the agenda were:
1. A new vegan information site for tourists. ( Ministry of Tourism).
2. The new ISO International standard for vegan/vegetarian food, and the possibility of creating a similar standard in Japan in the future. (Ministry of Forestry and Fisheries).
3. The use of the label “plant-based” for products in Japan. (Still under consideration by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs).
With regards to the latter, Tokyo Vegan handed out a PDF we had prepared on the issue. We also pointed out in a comment, that plant-based is an English language term that is used widely all over the world to help customers identify products, and as such, it is important to consider the global perception when considering usage in Japan.
We are very encouraged to see such a high level of engagement with vegan issues among Japanese lawmakers. We will continue to do our best to share fact-based information, based on global standards, with the council.
Finally, we had the pleasure of meeting Keinin Horikoshi MP at the meeting and subsequently joined him for an Instagram Live to talk about labeling and other vegan related issues. Horikoshi san is a politician who has taken up the issue of animal ethics widely, including in the Japan Parliament.”
Link to full full report of the meeting written by freelance writer Kato Hiroko and translated by Tokyo Vegan volunteer David Buist. https://note.com/kajinohanashi/n/n2b113e682dcb?fbclid=IwAR0JQ8VkgwqcOuqeOUy7KXFcfmlyNhAZHyKcGwVbAbNBIrHTp3BwY-lJKi8
