This paper explores the current situation of the food systems from the perspective of global linkages and value chain building in East Asian countries. The East Asian economy has been growing at a rapid rate after 1980s. According to official index of East Asian trade amount in the World increased by more than 20 times from 1980 to 2008. This is a high rate of growth even by World trade. Food trade and per capita food consumption also Rose during this period, the diet, high in livestock products, high in processed foods, low in grains and pulses. The current East-Asian Food System are dramatically different from what it was two decades ago. Over the last two decades, the Japan's food processing sector has increasingly participated in the internationalization of the Japanese economy. Imports and exports have increased simultaneously for a Japan's food and agriculture products. East Asian processed food exports to Japan and sales by Japanese-owned food processing affiliates in ASEAN and China are growing rapidly. Processed food exports to Japan increased from $1,154 million in 1985 to $15,953 million in 2008. The food systems linkages that have had and will continue to have a bold impact on the future structure of the East Asian food system. The most obvious linkage is the trade and foreign direct investment of food sectors of the East Asian food system.

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GAP(Good Agricultural Practice) could reduce any risk of food itself, local environment, and worker's condition in farm managements. In East Asian countries, the GLOBALGAP is used as a benchmarking reference for their domestic GAP because it has technological and institutional excellences. However, there are differences with regards to consumer labeling, state commitment, and product coverage among countries. As European Community experienced earlier, a consecutive expansion of intraregional trade would certainly lead to an institutional reform for harmonization of trade practices in terms of standard, labeling, certification, and accreditation in Asian countries.
A new MAFF guideline of GAP was designed to determine the principles and framework of GAP toward internal standardization in Japan. It seems to be a hybrid standard on both safety assurance and quality management systems.
Dissemination of GAP is likely to depend on how much producers can obtain economic and technological benefits. Institutional and economic circumstances through food chains are important elements that influence an allocation of economic gains from GAP application between relevant stakeholders such as producers, distributors, retailers, and consumers as well as exporters and importers.

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[in Japanese]

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The 6^th industry is a management style in which an agricultural management entity expands its business from agricultural production (the primary, or 1^st industry) into food processing (the secondary, or 2^nd industry) and marketing activities (the tertiary, or 3^rd industry). The term “6^th industry” was derived by multiplying the three numbers preceding the word of “industry”: 1×2×3=6. This type of management style allows agricultural entities take initiative and capitalize on their core competence in order to create new regional industries so as to bring about both greater employment opportunities for local residents and increased incomes to agricultural regions. Food industrial clusters are also an effective strategy for regional revitalization in cases where the production base has been weakened through agrarian depopulation. Agricultural management entities and food-related enterprises establish a win-win relationship through mutual dependence regarding technology transfer and managerial resources.
Strengthening local brands is a means to compete with PB (Private Brands) initiated by mass merchandisers: in order to enhance competitiveness, improving quality control and increasing brand recognition by establishing brand positioning and constructing brand hierarchy is required.

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So far, Korean rural areas could hardly have chances to arising food clusters, due to weak industrial infrastructure of non-agriculture sectors. However, for adjust to WTO Agriculture Agreement upon implementation, the government took the various measures in domestic agriculture policies be focused on the development of regional-agriculture cluster and branding of agricultural production. Under these circumstances, branding of agricultural production was contributed to expansion of food-based business areas and organizing agricultural producers as a motivation of food cluster. Followings are characteristics and problems concerning to agricultural policy and challenges be related to food cluster.
First, the agri-food policy has been actively involved to the branding of agricultural productions and development of agri-food cluster in Korea. The development of standards in the marketing of food distribution, branding guidance to agricultural products and pilot projects for the food cluster formation, are the related efforts.
Secondly, the most noticeable pattern is to expand the business area as like production line expansion and finding service or processing sectors in local level agri-food cluster.
Thirdly, many factors prevent the development of the cluster be required cooperation as well as competition among related local companies. To point out problems, it could be summarized spot transaction on products sales, exclusive in-sourcing led by production side and dependence on government subsidies.

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