The ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Japan plans an overhaul of the country’s agricultural policy so the farm sector will prosper under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact. The package includes promotion of farm exports and Japanese cuisine. “In Japan’s agriculture of the future, farmers will be required to industrialize their farming activities and turn their farms into businesses,” says DTN in summarizing a briefing by Akira Amari, who was chief TPP negotiator and holds three cabinet portfolios. The LDP plan puts more emphasis on data and information technology. “They [farmers] will need to introduce marketing, branding and IT, and operate their farming activities as businesses,” Amari told foreign reporters. Under TPP, Japan is expected to remove barriers to meat and grain imports.