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

History

The Constitution of the Empire of Japan provided for the creation of a Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce (農商務省), which was established in 1881, with Tani Tateki as its first minister. As an additional note, the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce was a division that served as the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. In 1925, the commerce functions were separated out into a separate Ministry of Commerce and Industry (商工省), and the ministry was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (農林省). The ministry was also given responsibility for oversight of the Factory Act of 1903, which provided regulations for work hours and worker safety in both industrial and agricultural industries. From 1943 to 1945, when the Ministry of Commerce was abolished due to the nationalization of Japanese industry for the war effort of World War II against Allies of World War II, 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). In 1978, the name of Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry was expanded to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries 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.

Organization

Internal Bureaus

Affiliated Agencies

List of ministers

The following list below is a list of notable ministers appointed since 1976.

Functional activities

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.