Good news was given to the ethanol industry last week when Japan through its Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry approved accepting U-S ethanol to successfully access 100 percent of the Japanese biofuel market.  Japanese officials say they want the lower-carbon ethanol fuel to help reduce emissions and help with the green house effect.  Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig visited Japan in early March and says exporting ethanol was discussed with Japanese officials during the trade mission.

Naig, along with several Iowa agriculture leaders recently came home from another trade mission, this time to Viet Nam and the Philippines.  Naig says those two nations were also interested in ethanol.

Japan looks to import 217 million gallons of U-S ethanol per year.