TOKYO - Seedlings of about 50 Japanese-developed farm product varieties, including prized citrus and strawberries, are suspected to have been sold online without permission, a farm ministry survey showed Friday.
The findings from the survey, conducted between July and September last year, come as the Japanese government steps up efforts to tackle the unauthorized outflow of farm products overseas by seeking passage of a revised plant variety protection law during the ongoing ordinary parliamentary session.
Japanese-developed plant varieties confirmed to have been sold on the websites of Chinese and South Korean seed companies included Beni Princess, a citrus variety that Ehime Prefecture spent about 20 years developing and has often touted as a "citrus thoroughbred."
The seedlings were sold under names identical or similar to those used in Japan. Beni Princess, among others, was sold under a Chinese-character name with the same meaning.
Other varieties suspected of having been leaked include Toki apples, mainly produced in Aomori Prefecture, Kotoka strawberries, developed in Nara Prefecture, and Seiobo peaches, produced in Fukushima and Yamagata prefectures.
Some seedlings could have made their way overseas before the varieties were registered.
The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries released the results of a similar survey in 2020, indicating that 36 varieties may have been taken overseas.
