ベジ議連設立総会リポート その１
＜ベジ議連設立総会リポート目次＞
その１：国会議員によるベジタリアン／ヴィーガン対応推進（議連発起人、出席議員、参加した関連団体、行政側出席者）
その２：発起人挨拶と会長人事、ベジ議連の規約、ベジ弁当の試食
※ベジ議連については海外の関心も高いそうです。東京ヴィーガン共同代表ナディア・マケックニーさんのご協力により、David Buistさんが翻訳してくれた英語版(その１〜その５まで）を日本語版の後に掲載しています。（You can find the English version translated by David Buist, for Tokyo Vegan, below the Japanese version.)
国会議員によるベジタリアン／ヴィーガン対応推進
ベジタリアンやヴィーガンと呼ばれる動物性食品を食べない人々は世界中に存在しています。訪日観光客が急増する中、日本を訪れるベジタリアン・ヴィーガンの数も増えていると思われ、実際、東京をはじめ、ベジタリアン・ヴィーガン対応可能な飲食店はここ数年でどんどん増加してきています。しかし、外国人にわかりやすい表示などがまだ少ないため、「食べるものがない」「何を食べたらいいのかわからない」という訪日ベジタリアン・ヴィーガンからの声も根強いのが現状です。また、日本人自体も多様な食の嗜好に対応することに不慣れなため、かつおだしを使っているのに「ベジタリアン」とうたったり、「肉を抜いてほしい」とリクエストしてもベーコンやハムが入ったままということがよくあります。2020年東京オリンピック・パラリンピックを控えて「おもてなし」と盛んに言われますが、ベジタリアン・ヴィーガンについては、まだまだ「おもてなし」は不十分で、早急な対策が必要です。
こうした状況を受け、超党派の国会議員によるベジ議連（正式名称は「ベジタリアン/ヴィーガン関連制度推進のための議員連盟」）が結成されました。この議連の目的は、東京五輪・パラリンピック（Tokyo2020）開催に向けて「ベジタリアン」や「ヴィーガン」の訪日外国人の方々も安心して観光に訪れられるよう、環境整備の推進を目指すというものです。呼びかけ人のひとりである松原仁衆議院議員（無所属）は、昨年秋の臨時国会で「インバウンドに対応したベジタリアン／ヴィーガン対策に関する質問主意書」を提出しており（これに対する安倍首相の答弁はこちら）、2020年東京オリンピック・パラリンピックを前にしたインバウンド対応の一環として、今回の議連発足が実現したと思われます。ベジ議連結成についてはNHKや朝日新聞などのマスメディアも報道しています。
なお、松原議員の公式サイトではベジ議連発足について発信しているユーチューブなどを見ることができます。
2019年11月6日、衆議院第一議員会館にてベジ議連設立総会が行われました。
多数のマスコミも取材に訪れ、当日の模様についてはNHKやフジテレビ、TBS、テレビ朝日、テレビ東京などが取り上げていますが、1時間の予定を超えて実際にどのようなやり取りがあったのか、このnoteでより詳しくお伝えしたいと思います。（※各出席者の発言については発言そのままではなく、意味が通りやすいよう、整えたものとなります。）長くなりますので、何回かに分けてお伝えします。
ベジ議連発起人
河村建夫衆議院議員（元官房長官、自民党）、松原仁衆議院議員（無所属）、石田祝稔衆議院議員（公明党）、岸本周平衆議院議員（国民民主党）、漆原良夫前衆議院議員（公明党顧問）、荒井さとし衆議院議員（立憲民主党、欠席）
〈ベジ議連設立総会出席者〉
国会議員
秋元司衆議院議員（自民党）、宮地琢磨衆議院議員（自民党）、高井崇志衆議院議員（立憲民主党）、泉健太衆議院議員（国民民主党）、川田龍平参議院議員（立憲民主党）、山本博司参議院議員（公明党）、上月良祐参議院議員（自民党）、堀越啓仁衆議院議員（立憲民主党）
「超党派」ということで、それぞれの議員が所属する政党は様々ですが、プロフィールや公式サイトを見ていくと、動物愛護や環境問題、農政などの分野で、日頃から問題意識をもって活動されている議員も少なくありません。山本議員、泉議員、堀越議員はベジ議連発足について情報発信しています。
ちなみに、上月議員はブログで内閣府食堂で食べたヴィーガン担々麺のリポートをしています。「美味しいビーガンって珍しいですよね♪」とありますが、ぜひ議連の皆さんでベジ＆ヴィーガンの食べ歩きをしていただき、ヴィーガンが美味しいのは珍しくないことを知ってほしいですね。
関係団体（敬称略）
垣本充（NPO法人日本ベジタリアン協会代表）、川野陽子（NPO法人ベジプロジェクトジャパン代表）、小城徳勇（ミートフリーマンデー・オールジャパン代表）、関根彩子（国際環境NGOグリーンピース・ジャパン スタッフ）、高井明徳（日本ベジタリアン学会会長）、利根川正則（㈱グローバル・メディア代表）、ナディア・マケックニー（東京ヴィーガンミートアップ オーガナイザー）、幡太樹（㈱フレンバシー／ベジウェル 代表取締役 ）、室谷真由美（NPO法人ヴィーガン認証協会代表理事）、山路ケン（日本エシカルヴィーガン協会副代表）
行政側出席者（敬称略）
消費者庁（食品表示企画課 五十嵐麻衣子課長）、農林水産省（食品産業局食文化・市場開拓課外食産業室 新藤光明室長）、観光庁（外客受入担当 片山敏宏参事官）、環境省（地球環境局総務課脱炭素化イノベーション研究調査室 吉川圭子室長）、東京都庁（産業労働局観光部 松本明子部長、農林水産部 龍野功担当部長）
ベジ議連設立総会リポートその２は、こちら。
ベジ議連設立総会リポートその３は、こちら。
ベジ議連設立総会リポートその４は、こちら。
ベジ議連設立総会リポートその５は、こちら。
The Vegetarian/Vegan Kanren Seido Suishin no Tame no Giin Renmei (“All-party Diet Council for the Promotion Vegetarian and Vegan-related Systems”, known as Vege Council for short) is a cross-party group of members of the Japanese Diet formed to promote the creation of a better environment for the reception of foreign tourists who are vegetarians or vegans. It has often been pointed out that Japan’s catering for vegetarian and vegan visitors is inadequate. Many Japanese have little knowledge about vegetarianism and veganism, and therefore do not know how to cater for such tourists. This has become an especially urgent issue in the run up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The first meeting of the council was held on November 6th, 2019 at the House of Representatives First Building. It was attended by several members of the Diet, civil servants from various departments of the Japanese Government, and representatives from a number of interested organizations. Statements made at the meeting by those attending are summarized below. The meeting also gained significant attention from the mass media, including Fuji TV, TV Asahi and TV Tokyo.
Opening Remarks
The meeting was chaired by Representative Jin Matsubara. The opening address was delivered by Representative Noritoshi Ishida. This is what he said:
"I am very happy to join Representative Matsubara as one of the founding members of this council. Frankly, though, I did not think so many people would come to this meeting. This alone serves as a reminder that this thing called veganism is a major trend in the world. Many people will be visiting Japan next year for the Olympics. We must do our best to cater for these people and give a favorable impression of our country. Although I am a founding member of this council, I do eat meat, and it isn't possible for me to stop eating it, so please forgive me. In future, I want to move to a more vegetable-centered diet."
Some people might be offended by this statement and question whether an avowed meat-eater should be qualified to be involved in policy making relevant to vegetarians and vegans. On the other hand, it is extremely significant that members of the Diet, regardless of their own dietary habits, are concerned with the improvement of conditions for vegetarians and vegans.
Having been nominated as President of the Council on the basis of seniority, Former Cabinet Secretary Takeo Kawamura gave a speech in which he also stressed the importance of improving the situation for vegetarian and vegan visitors to Japan. He also expressed eagerness to hear opinions from those attending the meeting and find ways to respond to the issues raised.
After the opening speeches, the meeting proceeded with approval of the Council's rules, Article 2 of which states the Council's purpose as follows:
1. To develop policy measures to maintain convenience for consumers and to protect their safety from contamination and allergic accidents, labeling confusion and other problems.
2. To raise consciousness about food in relation to the growing worldwide concern with environmental protection.
In other words, the Vege Council’s main focus is on the certification and labeling of vegetarian and vegan products and on environmental protection.
The meeting continued with tasting of a vegan lunch box distributed to those attending. The menu included shumai, gyoza, “chicken” nuggets, french fries, spring rolls, soy meat kara-age, and fried “oysters”. The food was prepared by Nikkoku Trust Inc., who also provide the vegan menu served at the Cabinet Office canteen. (Nikkoku Trust is an associated business of the ”Meat Free Monday” campaign started by Paul McCartney.) The dim sum also included in the lunch box was provided by Green Culture Inc., another of the organizations attending the meeting. The food was eaten with great relish and many expressed surprise that vegan food could be so tasty.
Statements by Organizational Representatives
Representatives from 10 interested organizations attended the inaugural meeting of the Vege Council and were allotted two minutes each to state their demands. The following is a summary of their respective statements.
The Japan Vegetarian Society and the Japanese Society for Vegetarian Research presented a joint statement demanding urgent implementation of guidelines for the certification of vegetarian and vegan products in accordance with international standards, citing similar guidelines already implemented in the UK and EU. The statement was read out by Dr. Mitsuru Kakimoto, President of the Japan Vegetarian Society, founded in 1993 as the only IVU (International Vegetarian Union) affiliated organization in Japan.
Vege Project Japan is an organization begun by Ms. Yoko Kawano in 2013 that does consultancy and certification for the introduction of vegetarian and vegan products. Ms. Kawano presented the following demands to the Council:
1. Understanding of the domestic and international situation amid the increasing demand for vegetarian and vegan products
2. Promoting understanding about vegetarianism and veganism among business personnel
3. Support for the expansion of product and service choices for vegetarians and vegans
Meet Free Monday Japan was started by an employee in the Cabinet Office, Mr. Norio Kojo, who also instigated the introduction of a vegan menu into the Cabinet Office canteen. He presented the following proposals:
1. the establishment of a "vege-infrastructure" including clear labeling in restaurant menus and commercial products, support and training in catering for vegetarians and vegans, and the creation of guide maps.
2. the setting up of a public subsidy system to encourage vegetarian and vegan catering
3. the introduction of vege-menus in government canteens
4. the incorporation of vegetarian and vegan perspectives into environmental policy
The idea of using public subsidies to promote vegetarian and vegan catering is modeled on existing efforts to expand Halal catering for inbound tourists. The introduction of vegetarian or vegan options into the menus offered in canteens for government employees is to set an example for others to follow. Encouraging the consumption of vegetarian and vegan alternatives instead of animal products is being increasingly recognized as an indispensable element of environmental policy.
Representing Green Peace Japan, Ms. Ayako Sekine advocated the adoption of vegetarian or vegan diets from the viewpoint of global environmental issues, citing a special report from the ICPP showing the link between deforestation and the raising of animals for meat. There is a growing recognition that dairy and meat production is a significant source of green-house gas emissions, besides being a major contributor to deforestation and environmental degradation. For this reason alone, many people, especially in Western countries, have become vegetarians or vegans.
President and CEO of Global Media Corporation, Mr. Masanori Tonegawa spoke about his company’s publication of a free food and lifestyle magazine called “Delicious Japan” and the exhibition of natural and organic foods at Foodex Japan and the International Hotel Show. He mentioned that nearly 5% of the 31 million foreign tourists who visited Japan in 2019 were vegetarians or vegans.
As organizer of the 8000-member strong Tokyo Vegan Meetup, Ms. Nadia McKechnie spoke about the great difficulties faced by vegan tourists in Japan compared to other countries. “Japan is not barrier-free for vegans,” she said. For example, it is common practice for ordinary restaurants in other countries to mark vegetarian and vegan items in their menus with an easily recognizable symbol. Vegan visitors to other countries have little difficulty finding food they can eat in ordinary supermarkets and convenience stores, but this is not the case in Japan. Nadia presented the following list of suggestions to improve the situation:
1. Japanese companies and restaurants should be made aware of the existence of consumers (both Japanese and foreign) who do not eat animal products (especially as it is the case that many Japanese hide the fact that they are vegan).
2. Companies and restaurants should allow consumers to make choices as to what is vegan by clearly marking their products.
3. Restaurants should be made aware of what vegans do and do not eat so that they can adapt their existing menus.
4. Japanese companies should be made aware that the market for vegan products is expanding rapidly.
5. Industry should be aware of the growing demand for cruelty-free cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning products that have not been experimented on animals.
6. Food labeling laws should be amended so that consumers can easily tell which products contain animal products and which do not.
Since many other countries have already implemented such measures, it should not be difficult for Japan to follow suit. Nadia also presented a petition signed by 5600 people called the “Japan Vegan Labeling & Options Project” to Representative Kawamura.
Frembassy/Vegewel Inc. is a company founded in 2015 on the principle of “barrier-freedom in food”. It operates a restaurant search website for people with various dietary restrictions, including vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free. It also does consulting work with restaurants and hotels to enable them to cater for different diets and promotes the accommodation of vegetarians in cooperation with local governments. Company Representative Taiki Hari made the following three proposals:
1. a nationwide statistical survey (necessary because lack of market information is a major impediment preventing companies from increasing their accommodation of vegetarians)
2. provision of online learning materials (necessary because many business people are unable to attend seminars in person even if they want to learn more)
3. selection of a widely recognizable unified symbol
Ms. Mayumi Muroya of the Japan Vegan Society spoke about her work to provide restaurant information for vegan visitors to Japan not only in English but also in Chinese for visitors from Taiwan. Her website has 2180 registered restaurants that cater for vegans, and she plans to distribute easily recognizable certification logos to those that satisfy the criteria. She spoke especially about the difficulties faced by Taiwanese tourists for whom there are no suitable restaurants outside the major cities. In Taiwan, many people eliminate not only animal products from their diet but also strong tasting vegetables such as onions and garlic known as "Gokun". As many as 640,000 such people visit Japan in a year.
The Ethical Vegan Society of Japan was represented at the meeting by Mr. Ken Yamaji, leader of the society's Tokyo Branch. His proposals on "Dietary Diversity in the New Vegan-friendly Age" included the following points:
1. Maintaining "dietary diversity" by increasing the number of vegan-friendly restaurants,
2. Making restaurants aware that people practice vegetarianism and veganism for many different reasons (not only for health reasons),
3. Revising nutritional guidelines to make it easier to accommodate vegetarian and vegan diets in school meals and athletic meals, and
4. Building bridges with websites and organizations overseas.
The third point was not mentioned by any of the other participants at the meeting. It is noteworthy that many very successful athletes in other countries practice veganism. He also referred to the use of animal products in the preparation of foods that are otherwise entirely derived from plants, such as the use of bone charcoal in sugar refining, and to the destruction of animal habitats by palm oil plantations. For some people, especially those with more ethical concerns, veganism may mean more than simply eliminating animal products from the diet. It is therefore important to consider the reasons that motivate people to adopt veganism. (edited)
5:43
Presentations by Civil Servants
The meeting was attended by staff from a number of ministries and government agencies, including the Consumer Affairs Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Tourism Agency, Ministry of the Environment, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
The Consumer Affairs Agency has jurisdiction over laws that regulate the labeling of food products. The purpose of these laws is to provide consumers with information about the content and origin of food ingredients so that they can make informed choices about which products to buy and consume and thus maintain their own health and well being. Given the diversity of ideas about vegetarianism and veganism and the absence of a unified international standard, careful consideration will be needed before imposing obligatory labeling requirements. Furthermore, even though the law provides for the imposition of fines for mislabeling, such fines cannot be enforced without thorough investigation to reveal what processed foods actually contain.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has published guides for restaurants on how to cater for vegetarians and vegans, including examples of conversations in various languages. The Ministry has also held seminars around the country to help restaurants cater for inbound tourists. Inbound foreign tourists are an important market for Japanese businesses, with an aggregate expenditure of over 4,500 billion yen, 1,300 billion of which is spent on eating out. The total restaurant market in Japan is in the region of 25,000 billion yen, and 4% of this is demand from foreign tourists. The Ministry has created an easily readable pamphlet accessible to small and medium sized restaurant businesses on how to cater for foreign visitors, which mentions vegetarians alongside allergy sufferers and those who follow religious dietary rules.
The Tourism Agency has been carrying out research and producing material on how to cater for Muslim visitors and tourists from India. Some work has already been done to create an environment which accommodates Muslims, including the provision of suitable food and places of worship. This may provide a model for future efforts to accommodate other groups including vegetarians and vegans. The Indian tourism market is large and expanding rapidly (at a rate of 10.4% per annum). Although Japan has so far only captured a small portion of this market, efforts are being made to expand it, including the creation of a list of Indian restaurants and the setting up of an official Japanese tourism office in New Delhi. Since many Indians practice vegetarianism, this is likely to be a significant impetus for improving the environment for vegetarians in Japan.
The Ministry of the Environment recognizes that there is a close connection between diet and climate change. The IPCC has produced a report showing that the global food system (including food production, processing, distribution and consumption) accounts for between 21 and 37% of the total green-house gas emissions caused by human activity. Changes in dietary habits could make a major contribution to reducing these emissions. Alongside other important changes, such as reducing food waste and relying more on locally produced food, moving to a diet centered on plant-based sources of nutrition would significantly reduce the human impact on the climate. In addition to climate change, the Ministry is also concerned about the wider impact of people's everyday dietary practices on the environment, including bio-diversity, and has undertaken promotional work to encourage people to adopt more environmentally friendly lifestyles.
The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is intensively involved in preparations for the 2020 Olympics. The Tourism Department is seeking ways to improve the experience of foreign visitors attending the Olympics, including making sure that restaurants in the city are able to cater for people with different dietary requirements. There are plans to produce a pamphlet introducing restaurants catering for vegetarians and vegans, and the Tourism Department is eager to consult with those attending the meeting about how to proceed with this. Despite being involved in the promotion of animal husbandry, the Agricultural Department also recognizes the importance of vegetarianism and veganism as part of the diversity of existing food cultures. Vegan cuisine was even presented at an event held by the Metropolitan Government last year.
Comments from Politicians
Because of their multiple commitments, some of the diet members had to leave the meeting to attend other committees, but those still in attendance after the civil service presentations made comments as follows.
Councillor Hiroshi Yamamoto said that he had heard about the Vege Council through one of his former classmates at Keio University, Mr. Yamashita, who is manager of T's Restaurant in Jiyugaoka, a very well-known vegan restaurant in Toyko. He recognized the importance of the issues and promised to deal with them seriously.
Representative Takuma Miyaji represents a district in Kagoshima where cattle, pig and chicken farming is important. However, tourism is also important to the local economy, and he recognized the increasing demand for vegan catering, promising to follow the issue carefully.
Councillor Ryuhei Kawada is particularly concerned with issues of health and food safety especially since his wife (like Prime Minister Abe) suffers from inflammatory bowel disease and has to avoid gluten and dairy products. He hopes that more restaurants will start catering for people with restricted diets, as in other countries. He has previously proposed the adoption of Halal certification to increase the overseas market for Japanese food and hopes to expand the promotion of Japanese food products for the global vegetarian and vegan market as well.
Representative Keiji Horikoshi followed a plant-based diet during his training as a Buddhist priest. Even now, he observes "Meet-free Mondays" out of a concern for animal welfare and environmental protection. He also promised to deal with the issues thoroughly.
Closing Remarks
Mr. Satoshi Kaneda, CEO of Green Culture Inc., who provided the vege lunch at the meeting, said that he hoped the meat substitutes his company had developed could be enjoyed by vegetarians and meat-eaters alike, considering how close these products are to animal meat in taste and texture.
In his closing remarks, Representative Jin Matsubara acknowledged the various issues raised and the need for further discussion. He expressed particular concern about the need to improve the situation for foreign tourists in Japan and the need to provide reliable information so that all international visitors can find restaurants that cater to their needs. All means to achieve this end should be considered, whether that be producing guidebooks or developing policies. He cited existing efforts to accommodate those who follow Halal dietary laws as a model, and hoped that such efforts would be expanded to accommodate vegetarians and vegans.
読んでいただいて、ありがとうございます！