2. While the revised law is to take effect on March 10, 2003, misunderstanding and misguidance by agricultural cooperatives and prefectural agricultural materials regulators have led farming households to believe that they cannot use the Chinese agricultural material that the complainant imports even before the revised law's implementation. At present, the complainant is effectively unable to sell it.

3. Therefore, the responsible ministries are requested to take the following measures.
(1) They should notify agricultural cooperatives, prefectural agricultural materials regulators and farming households that Ryokugen and other agricultural materials can be used even if it is not designated as a special agricultural chemical, before the revised law takes effect.
(2) They should designate the Chinese agricultural material as a special agricultural chemical since the product, as indicated by its raw materials, is clearly unlikely to do harm to agricultural products, humans, livestock and aquatic animals and plants.

2. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries asked the Agricultural Material Council to have its committee of academic experts consider what should be designated as special agricultural chemicals, based on a survey as conducted by the ministry. The academic experts have concluded that the efficacy should be identified first for the designation and recommended the designation to cover bacteria-killing baking soda and vinegar, and natural pest enemy insects that have traditionally existed in the vicinity of the locations planned for their use.

3. Public comments will be solicited on the recommendation including the basic idea about the special agricultural chemicals before the special agricultural chemicals are promulgated to meet the implementation of the revised Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law on March 10. At present, the designation as special agricultural chemicals has been suspended for most of agricultural materials subjected to the past considerations because objective information on their efficacy has been insufficient. The Chinese agricultural material is among them and cannot be designated as a special agricultural chemical.
(The above is a reply from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Environment. Another reply from the former alone follows.)
As for these materials, their safety as well as their efficacy must be evaluated in the future. If they have safety problems, the ministry may subject them to a crackdown based on realities regarding their use as agricultural chemicals.

4. Those agricultural materials for which the designation as special agricultural chemicals has been suspended cannot be sold with the indication of any anti-pest efficacy as in the past unless they are registered as agricultural chemicals. Depending on future evaluation, they may be subjected to the registration. Therefore, the ministry now cannot notify relevant organizations that they can be used.