Iwate, Japan, Jan. 6 – Japan’s rice policy discussion for 2027 will start in 2026. The Japan Agricultural News had an interview with Yusei Kikuchi, a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), about his thoughts on rice and the future direction of Japan’s rice policy. “I take rice-oriented diet for better nutritional balance. I eat a lot of rice, like eight onigiri rice balls every day. I eat two rice balls per meal, three times a day, and two rice balls as a snack between meals. I travel with packed rice even when we are playing away games. My favorite rice brands … Continue reading →

AKITA, Jan. 14 — Takashi Kakinoki, 38, of Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, has been working voluntarily to pick abandoned persimmons and process them into food products such as okonomiyaki savory pancakes and smoothies. He engages in the activity in hopes of turning neglected persimmon trees in rural villages into valuable resources. Last year in particular, when Japan saw a record number of bear sightings —with many attracted to fruit-bearing trees in residential areas — he received a number of requests from owners of persimmon trees to harvest the fruit because they don’t want to cut down the trees filled with memories. Kakinoki, a native of Hiroshima Prefecture, moved to Noshiro, his … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jan. 4 -On January 3, 2026, 21 universities competed in the Day 2 for the 102nd Tokyo-Hakone Round-Trip College Ekiden Race (Hakone Ekiden) from Hakone Town, Kanagawa Prefecture, to Otemachi, Tokyo (from 6th to 10th stages totaling 109.6 kilometers). Aoyama Gakuin University won its 9th, and 3rd consecutive, overall victory. Tokyo University of Agriculture (TUA), which started the second day of the two-day race in 13th place, passed on the sash (tasuki in Japanese) to the goal and finished in 18th place overall. However, it could not secure a seed that they had wanted for the past 16 years. “Go for it, Yua!” The vigorous cheering came from 75-year-old … Continue reading →

OKAYAMA, Jan. 6 — Japan is the world’s fourth biggest consumer of coffee in terms of volume, but it imported 36,0287 tons of green coffee beans in 2024 while the annual domestic production is estimated to be only about 10 tons. Attempts have been made in recent years to establish a production base for coffee beans in the country, which has a high demand for the product but produces a very small quantity of its own. A company in Okayama Prefecture newly set up a coffee production division, aiming to harvest a maximum of 500 kilograms of green coffee beans in a few years when its coffee trees mature. It … Continue reading →

The Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives of Hokkaido, Japan, held a press conference in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, to announce a new advertising series featuring Masahiro Matsuoka, a former member of the Japanese pop-rock band TOKIO. The ad series features Matsuoka as the King of Milk Land to highlight the deliciousness and delightfulness of Hokkaido’s milk and dairy products. Hokuren aims to increase milk consumption, which is currently declining, by having Matsuoka, a Hokkaido native popular among people of all ages, as a PR man. The campaign is part of the initiative named “Milk Land Hokkaido” that runs to boost milk consumption based on the funds from dairy product producers. The … Continue reading →