Sugar industry in Japan - Report on a visit to Memuro sugar factory of Nippon Beet Sugar (Nitten)

The level of awareness in Europe about conditions of production in the Japanese agriculture, in relation to its sugar industry, is low. Contacts are rare, going from Europe to Japan and vice versa, and are equally rare among universities, associations and trade publishers. At the invitation of Mr. Akio Ogasawara, President of Nippon Beet Sugar, in Tokyo, the author, accompanied by a translator (Mr. Akemi Sakamoto, Tokyo), visited the Memuro sugar factory on January 28-29, 2013. The first part of the report contains general information on agriculture and the sugar industry in Japan, information gathered from different sources. In the second part, figures of the sugar beet processing company in Hokkaido are discussed. Finally, observations of the Memuro sugar factory are reported, especially with regard to the technology used there for sugar beet processing. This part concludes with general observations on the world of work in Japan.