Second Harvest Japan, Japan’s first food bank (Headquarters: Taito-ku, Tokyo, hereinafter referred to as 2HJ) is pleased to announce that it has received the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award in the “Ensuring Food Access” category of the 1st Connecting Food and Agriculture Awards. (https://nippon-food-shift.maff.go.jp/2025/aw_connect.html) established as a part of the national campaign “Rethinking Japan through Food: Nippon Food Shift” promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF).

The Connecting Food and Agriculture Awards is a recognition program aimed at promoting an understanding of the ‘food system,’ which involves collaboration among producers, food businesses, and consumers, as well as encouraging proactive efforts toward sustainable food supply. It honors companies and organizations related to four categories: ‘Stable food supply,’ ‘Ensuring food access,’ ‘Establishing a sustainable food system,’ and ‘Development and dissemination of smart agricultural technologies.’
2HJ was awarded the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Award in recognition of its contributions in the field of ‘Ensuring food access,’ which involves securing physical and economic access to food. Specifically, it was acknowledged for ‘Providing food support to people in financial hardship and disaster-affected areas over many years, utilizing that expertise to formulate guidelines for sustainable food bank operations, and contributing to the expansion of such activities (from the MAFF press release).

2HJ continues to accelerate collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders, including both public and private sectors, to establish a food safety-net that allows everyone to reliably access sufficient nutritious food whenever needed, even in emergencies.