The nation's ability to feed itself remained at 40 percent on a calorie basis in fiscal 2000, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Wednesday.

Based on data released by the ministry and statistics compiled by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization in 1999, Japan's food self-sufficiency ranks 129th out of 178 countries and 28th among the 30 members of the OECD.

The rate, which gauges a country's ability to produce enough food to feed its population without requiring imports, was unchanged for the third consecutive year.

While the government aims to raise the ratio to 45 percent by fiscal 2010, a farm ministry official said, "The downward tendency has not yet stopped."

By individual items, rice had the highest self-sufficiency ratio of 95 percent by a weight in fiscal 2000, unchanged from the previous year.

Rates for some items improved slightly -- wheat rose to 11 percent from 9 percent and soybeans increased to 5 percent from 4 percent.

But the ratio for many other items declined, namely fruit, dropping from 49 percent to 44 percent; meat, from 54 percent to 52 percent; and vegetables, from 83 percent to 82 percent.

By prefecture, Hokkaido was the most capable of feeding itself, with 178 percent self-sufficiency, while Tokyo rated the worst at 1 percent.