Japan's agriculture ministry has opened a public consultation on a draft change to its fertilizer supply policy that would widen who can claim support for stockpiling facilities. The draft covers fertilizer sellers that take ownership of raw materials from a fertilizer business and store them in that business's place.
What the draft adds
The Economic Security Promotion Act (Act No. 43 of 2022), Article 8, requires the competent minister to set a policy for securing stable supply of each designated critical good that falls under that minister's remit. Fertilizer is one such good, and the agriculture ministry published its fertilizer policy on 28 December 2022.
Under that policy, support covers two things. One is the stockpiling cost of fertilizer businesses whose supply plans have been certified under Article 9(1) of the Act. The other is the cost of facilities or equipment used to stockpile target raw materials, whether held by a certified fertilizer business or by a warehouse operator registered with the transport minister.
The policy also lets a fertilizer business seek certification jointly with two kinds of partner: a warehouse operator that builds stockpiling facilities, and an entity that takes ownership of the raw materials and stores them on the business's behalf. The second group is limited to financial institutions and fertilizer sellers as defined in the Fertilizer Quality Assurance Act.
The amendment adds one category to the support list: the cost of facilities or equipment needed for stockpiling by those title-holding custodians, limited to fertilizer sellers. The ministry describes the aim as stable operation of the stockpile system and adds that it will make other necessary changes.
Timetable and how to comment
The ministry published the draft on 4 November 2026 under the Administrative Procedure Act. Comments are accepted from 4 November until 23:59 on 3 December 2026, a window of 30 days. The ministry plans to announce the final revision in late December 2026.
Submissions must be in Japanese and can go through the e-Gov web form or by post to the ministry's fertilizer raw-material stockpile team in Kasumigaseki. Mail must arrive by the deadline, telephone comments are not accepted, and the ministry says it will not reply to individual submissions. Senders must give a name, address and contact details.
The draft summary gives no budget figure or subsidy rate for the new category. It also does not say how many fertilizer sellers would qualify.