Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

【News】 Candidates for agricultural co-op group’s presidential election stress eagerness to listen to farmers’ voices (June 24, 2015)

Two candidates running for the presidential election of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) expressed their determination to reflect the voices of farmers and primary agricultural co-operatives in making the historical reform of the organization. Speaking to some 160 representatives with a voting right who gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday, June 23, Choe Okuno, 68, president of Mie Prefectural Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, and Toru Nakaya, 65, president of Wakayama Prefectural Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, explained their views on how to expand farmers’ income and how to deal with the government’s move to restructure JA-Zenchu. JA-Zenchu is having a presidential race for the first time in 10 years. The … Continue reading

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【News】 Bring back our life with wood (June 21, 2015)

Kotaro Yamada –  Naguri Canoe Studio (Hanno-shi, Saitama Prefecture)  – Hanno-shi, Saitama Prefecture, is only about one hour ride on a train from the heart of Tokyo, but three-fourth of the city is forest land. The city had flourished with the forestry and the wood processing industry until 1964, when the Japanese government fully liberalized wood import to Japan. Today, some people are gathering at Naguri Canoe Studio, a non-profit organization (NPO) established by local residents, to bring back the prosperity by promoting canoes made out of locally-grown timber. The NPO uses timber of Japanese cedar and cypress obtained from forest-thinning to build canoes. At the studio, they cut the … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Maximum caution necessary as U.S. passes trade promotion authority bill (June 20, 2015)

  The U.S. Senate is trying somehow or other to pass the second version of the trade promotion authority (TPA) bill which is said to be indispensable for President Barack Obama to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. In a desperate effort to advance the bill and accelerate the TPP negotiations, Republican congressional leaders resorted to an extreme measure of separating a workers’ assistance bill originally packaged with the TPA bill. We have to keep watching the U.S. move with the greatest caution, along with the Japanese government’s eagerness to follow the U.S. U.S. Congress is now in chaos. The first version of the fast-track TPA bill was packaged with … Continue reading

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【Opinion】 The U.S. trade promotion authority vs. Japan’s Diet resolution (June 16, 2015)

  Yoichi Tashiro, Professor of agricultural economics at Otsuma Women’s University The U.S. House of Representatives has narrowly passed the Trade Promotion Authority bill, which would give President Barack Obama the latitude to negotiate a 12-nation Pacific trade deal sought by most Republicans, but since Democrats sank the related Trade Adjustment Assistance bill to slow down the process, further Congressional maneuvering is expected this week. It is surprising that the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks is becoming such an issue of controversy in U.S. politics. This shows that democracy still exists in the U.S. unlike in Japan, where the government is rushing to conclude the talks. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has … Continue reading

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【News】 Clear-eyed foreign animals helping restoration in quake-hit village (June 14, 2015)

Kotaro Yamada – Yamakoshi Alpaca Village (Nagaoka-shi, Niigata Prefecture) – Want to meet this fluffy sweet animal with a long neck? Then, come and join the crowd of tourists at Yamakoshi Alpaca Village in Yamakoshi, Nagaoka-shi, Niigata Prefecture, where you can actually enjoy feeding and touching them in the beautiful natural environment. Yamakoshi Alpaca Village is managed by a union established by local residents. It has two separate farms, one in Yubu for around 20 female alpacas and another in Tanesuhara for around 10 male alpacas. These farms are open to public for free for three seasons from spring through autumn. Alpacas, classified as camelids, eat grass and concentrated foodstuff … Continue reading

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