TOKYO, April 25 — Japan’s governing party has　reaffirmed it will not accept U.S. demands that go beyond the concessions Tokyo made as part of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held a meeting on April 24, following the recent outcome of a Japan-the U.S. summit on trade at the U.S. president’s Mar-a-Lago resort club in Florida. “We will work closely with the government to make sure not to have our farmers and fishermen worried,” said Hiroshi Moriyama, who chaired the meeting with an internal task force that deals with trade pacts such as the TPP. The move comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the … Continue reading →

TOKYO, April 21 — Japan’s agriculture ministry has installed drink vending machines that sell locally-grown fruit beverage at its headquarters. In Japan, beverages are often in cans in convenience stores, kiosks at trains stations and vending machines. The ministry said the vending machines will offer new product lines each season, such as soy tea and Oita prefecture’s pear juice. It now plans to install such vending machines at train stations as well as airports to promote local fruit produce nationwide.

TOKYO, April 15 — Online purchase of Japanese food is becoming a preferred channel for Chinese consumers, especially young professionals, a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) has found. The Japanese governmental export agency conducted the survey in August 2017 to look for export opportunities of Japanese-grown produce. It questioned 1,224 middle-class Chinese, aged between 20 and 49, who live in six major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai and earn more than 5,000 yuan a month. The survey shows that 83 percent of Chinese respondents said they have bought imported food from e-commerce sites. Moreover, the most popular origin of food imports in the e-commerce market … Continue reading →