Global cooperative alliance elects JA-ZENCHU Nakaya to board

KUALA LAMPUR, Malaysia, Nov. 18 —The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has elected JA-ZENCHU Chairman Toru Nakaya as a new board member. The apex the global cooperatives body held its general assembly in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia on Nov. 17. ICA received 24 candidates for the 15 board seats. After being elected, Nakaya said: “The Japanese cooperative movement, including JA Group, has been highly regarded in the global cooperative community, and it is vital to preserve the cooperative movement.” “My mission is to upgrade the model and increase its presence,” he stressed. Nakaya got 611 out of total 697 votes, the second highest number of votes in the same election. Board members … Continue reading

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Japan’s convenience store chains raise prices of rice balls

TOKYO, Nov. 10 — Japanese convenience store chains have raised prices of onigiri, or Japanese rice balls stuffed with a variety of delicious fillings, to pass on rice price increases to consumers. Store chains had been being hesitant to pass price increases onto consumers. But some of them started raising onigiri prices due to an increase in commercial rice prices for 2017, and the trend will grow throughout the convenience store industry, observers say. In October, Lawson Inc. raised prices for some of its onigiri lineups at its 127,000 outlets in Japan. The price of a rice ball filled with tuna and mayonnaise rose from 110 yen to 116 yen. … Continue reading

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Chance to renegotiate deal without US in TPP: Japan minister

TOKYO, Nov. 15 — Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has suggested that “an agreement in principle” adopted by the remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members in Vietnam earlier this month will allow Tokyo to renegotiate agricultural market access if it wishes. “You can rest assured what we should have in the agreement,” Motegi told reporters at a Nov. 14 press conference. On Nov. 11, the 11 TPP countries inserted a clause in the agreement, stipulating that they will renegotiate the deal if any country requests it and if there is no prospect the U.S. will return to the TPP. Yet, many observers and farm lobbyists privately said that the parameter of … Continue reading

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Japan’s ruling LDP calls for new farm aid to adjust trade deals

TOKYO, Nov. 3 — Japan’s governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has started discussing new funding for farm support programs to help producers adjust to increased agricultural food imports entering Japan under new trade deals. That move coincides as Tokyo and Brussels aim to complete the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) by the end of the year. The LDP held a Nov. 2 meeting with an internal task force that deals with the Japan-EU EPA as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). “Whether we can win trust from farmers depends on how much money we can get from government spending,” said Hiroshi Moriyama, who has been appointed as head of the … Continue reading

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Abe denies he and Trump discussed prospect of bilateral trade agreement

TOKYO, Nov. 21 – Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received questions on Nov. 20 from representatives of both the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and opposition parties at a plenary session of the Lower House regarding the policy speech he delivered on Nov. 17. Responding to a question from Yuichiro Tamaki, head of the Party of Hope (Kibo no To), the second-largest opposition force, Abe denied that he and United States President Donald Trump had discussions on a bilateral trade framework when they met in Tokyo on Nov. 6. “There was no talk on a Japan-U.S. free trade agreement in my conversation with President Trump,” Abe said. Abe’s remarks run counter to … Continue reading

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