Japan is rewriting its seed law to add ten years to breeders' rights and let officials block exports even before a variety is registered. We unpack the new bill now in the upper house, the suspected leak of Ehime's premium citrus to China, and why the 2020 version left a hole that fruit pirates walked right through.
Japan estimates the leak of its Shine Muscat grape to China and South Korea costs about $120 million a year. We unpack how a missed registration deadline, a strawberry precedent and a too-late seed law left one of Japan's best fruits unprotected abroad.
