1.) Olive oil is a light yellow non-drying oil for cooking and other use obtained from the fruit of the olive. After the mature fruit has been dried, the oil is extracted by cold pressing, which gives a yield of 20%. The cultivation of olives began six thousand years ago in the area of the Near and Middle East that is now Syria and Israel. Cultivation subsequently spread to civilizations around the Mediterranean, such as the Greek and Roman civilizations. Olives are now also grown in a number of other countries and regions, including Mexico, California, Argentina, South Africa and Australia. Mediterranean countries such as Italy and Spain presently account for over 90% of world output of olive oil.

2.) Olives were first cultivated in Japan around the 1860s during the Edo period for medicinal use. The first olive oil to be made in Japan, which came from an olive farm in Motomachi in Kobe, was produced in 1881. Full-scale production later began in areas such as Kagawa Prefecture, and was at its peak in the 1960s. As cheap, good quality imports of olive oil became available from 1965, however, output began to decline, and olive oil is now produced in only small quantities in Okayama Prefecture and on Shodo Island in Kagawa Prefecture.

3.) Olive oil is of three basic types:

(a) Virgin olive oil ? This is the raw oil pressed from the flesh of the olive fruit from which foreign bodies have been filtered or otherwise removed. Virgin olive, which is not chemically treated in any way, is divided into two kinds: extra virgin olive oil (the highest grade), which has an acid value or no more than 1%, and virgin olive oil, which has an acid value of no more than 4%. Virgin olive oil has a distinctive full aroma and flavor, and is a greenish yellow in color. It is used to add the finishing touches to cooking.

(b) Refined olive oil ? This is oil from the second pressing and oil with an acid value of at least 4% that has been refined. It is blended for use as cooking oil, and is also used as an ingredient in medicines and cosmetics.

(c) Pure olive oil ? This refers to refined olive oil that has gone through the ordinary refinement process for cooking fats and oils, which involves alkaline refining, decolorization and deodorization, and blends of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil. It is a pale, transparent gold in color, and has a light, mild flavor. Cheaper than virgin olive oil, it is used for frying and saut?ing, etc.

4.) Because olive oil contains large quantities of oleic acid that the human body needs, it helps to prevent forms of heart disease such as arteriosclerosis. As a consequence, olive oil was until the 1970s widely used in medicines and cosmetics. Since the 1980s, however, use of olive oil for cooking has increased. Helped by its healthy image as well as the boom in Mediterranean and Italian cuisine, the number of retail stores stocking olive oil for household use is growing especially rapidly.

5.) Imports in recent years have been as follows.

	1996	1996	1998	1998	2000	2000
	Quantity	Value	Quantity	Value	Quantity	Value
Virgin olive oil	8,031	5,855	18,074	9,183	13,054	5,296
Pure olive oil	10 ,188	6,712	16,302	6,393	14,275	4,518
Other olive oil	23	12	112	26	76	14
Total	18,242	12 ,579	34,488	15,602	27,405	9,828

Units: tons (quantity), million yen (value)

Source: Japan Trade Monthly.

As can be seen from the above table, imports of high-grade virgin olive oil have increased since 1998.

6.) As olive oil had been overly associated with health and ways of cooking using olive oil had not caught on, demand failed to keep pace with the surge in imports. This resulted in a glut, and the total volume of imports plummeted 21.5% from the previous year to 26,998 tons in 1999. Spot imports by new importers and sales outlets having been cut back, and market for olive oil has settled down since 2000, and supply and demand are now more balanced.

7.) The main sources of imports are as follows.

	1996	1998	2000
	Quantity	Quantity	Quantity	Value	(%)
Italy	9,079	20,473	16,890	6,445	(65.6%)
Spain	8,684	13,422	9,988	3,116	( 31.7%)
Greece	231	268	262	135	( 1.4%)
Turkey	0	46	73	22	( 0.2%)
France	45	60	41	25	( 0.3%)
Others	204	219	151	85	( 0.8%)
Total	18,243	34,488	27,405	9,828	(100.0%)

Units: tons (quantity), million yen (value)

Source: Japan Trade Monthly.

As olive oil used to be largely used for non-food purposes in Japan until the olive oil boom, imports were evenly balanced between cheap imports of Spanish olive oil and Italian imports of brand-name oils. As use of olive oil for cooking at home started to spread, however, the proportion of imports from Italy began to grow. Imports from Italy and Spain accounted for 97.3% of the total (in terms of value) in 2000.

8.) There is a marked shift in demand away from small 250m? bottles to 500m? and 1? bottles for home-use, indicating that household demand is moving beyond trial purchases to buying for regular use. Olive oil is not suited to deep-frying. This is because olive oil has a strong aroma at high temperatures that penetrates the food too much. Olive oil is best suited to foods that can be cooked quickly and cooking that does not require a great deal of heat. Cooked for long, olive oil gives off a burnt smell and has an unpleasant taste. Leading makers in Japan are stoking demand by marketing types mask olive oil�fs distinctive smell to better suit Japanese taste.

9.) While household demand has fluctuated, commercial demand for olive oil has been steadily increasing as olive oil has found its way onto menus in a wider range of fields. Although the number of Italian restaurants has plateaued, it is now not unusual for Western-style taverns to serve Italian food, and even ordinary taverns are increasingly serving foods such as pizza and pasta.

10.) Where imported as food, olive oil is subject to the provisions of the Food Hygiene Law, and where imported for use in medicines or cosmetics, it is subject to the provisions of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.

11.) The sale of olive oil as food is covered by the Food Hygiene Law, JAS Law and Measurement Law, while sale in medicines and cosmetics is covered by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law. When sold for cosmetics, olive oil is in addition subject to the rules on fair trade under the Law for the Prevention of Unreasonable Premiums and Misrepresentation Concerning Products and Services. Used receptacles are, regardless of use, additionally subject to the provisions of the Container and Packaging Recycling Law.

12.) At present in Japan, 60% of olive oil is for cooking at home, 30% is for cooking for the trade, and 10% is for non-food use (medicines and cosmetics).