Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

  The Norinchukin Bank announced Wednesday, May 27, that it has concluded a strategic alliance with Netherland-based Rabobank in the field of food and agriculture-related financial business. By stepping up their long-standing relationship as agricultural co-operative financial organizations, Norinchukin hopes to gain knowhow from Utrecht-based Rabobank on agricultural management expertise and exports in Netherlands, a leading exporter of farm products known for its highly productive agriculture industry. Norinchukin says the strategic alliance, the first to be signed with a foreign financial institution, will help meet the government’s goal of making the nation’s farm sector the growth industry and increasing farmers’ income. “We will deepen understanding on Netherland’s agriculture and Rabobank’s … Continue reading →

  Agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi told the Lower House agriculture committee Thursday, May 21, that the government’s farm co-ops reform will make the co-ops correspond more to the co-operative principles including autonomy and democracy. He brushed aside the International Co-operative Alliance’s claims made last year that the reform infringes on the principles. However, opposition parties criticized the government’s way of interpreting the reform to their own advantage. In October, the ICA, a nonprofit organization comprising 300 co-operative associations in 100 countries, issued a statement strongly condemning the Japanese government’s move to dismantle the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu). The statement said the contemplated legislative changes “obviously violate” some of … Continue reading →