Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

【News】 Government reluctant to state in new law farm co-ops as core of local economy (May 22, 2015)

  As the Lower House agriculture committee began deliberating a bill submitted by the government to revise the Agricultural Co-operative Society Law on Thursday, May 21, farm minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed reluctance to stating in the new law that agricultural co-ops are the main entity in local economies. His remark is likely to draw controversy, as it contradicts with the government’s previous stance which recognized the significance of farm co-ops in regional economy. The government said in its basic view on agricultural co-ops released in 2010 that the co-ops play an influential role in reinvigorating local economies and should be positioned as the major player in the regions. The view, shared by … Continue reading

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【News】 1,500 people call for protection of farm products in TPP talks (May 20, 2015)

Some 1,500 people in the agriculture sector gathered from across the nation on Tuesday, May 19, in Tokyo to call on the government to protect sensitive farm items ahead of the ministerial meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks expected later in the month. The Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) and a national political organization of farmers which hosted the rally invited ruling parties’ lawmakers and urged them to keep the Diet resolutions which pledged to protect key agricultural products such as rice and beef from tariff elimination. The United States Senate began deliberating the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) bill, which would give the White House more authority to … Continue reading

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【Japan Report】 Rice farmers concerned over possible increase of U.S. exports – Odate, Akita Prefecture (May 19, 2015)

  Tomokatsu Sowa Amid reports that Japan and the United States are considering expanding Japan’s import quota for U.S. rice in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, Japanese farmers in rice growing regions are voicing worries and anger, saying that increased imports would ruin their efforts to balance domestic supply and demand by reducing production of table rice and shifting to production of rice for livestock feed. “Don’t they care if the government’s policy to tighten supply-demand balance of rice ends up in failure?” says Shusaku Watanabe, 78, who heads Oshigenai, an agricultural producers’ co-operative corporation in the city of Odate, Akita Prefecture. Hit by dropping rice prices, Oshigenai went into … Continue reading

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【News】 Profound skills of fishing masters exhibited (May 17, 2015)

Kazuhiro Egchi – Ukai Cormorant Fishing on Nagara River (Gifu-shi, Gifu Prefecture) – The season for ukai (cormorant fishing) has started on the Nagara River in Gifu-shi, Gifu Prefecture. The fishing method has a history of 1,300 years and is deeply routed in the life of the locals. In March 2015, it was designated as an important intangible folk cultural asset of Japan for the first time among the skills in the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries and is receiving increased recognition for its traditional and cultural values. There are six fishing masters who run the traditional fishing boats on the Nagara River. Each of them manipulates ten to twelve … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Agricultural co-ops reform – for whom and for what? (May 14, 2015)

  The Diet will begin deliberations on the bill to revise the Agricultural Co-operatives Society Law on Thursday, May 14. The government says it places top priority on the bill in the current Diet session. The point at issue will be whether the revision will realize the government’s goal of increasing farmers’ income. The bill includes revisions on issues which have much to do with the essence of agricultural co-operatives, such as the scope of their business and who should be assigned to their board of directors. As the revision will be a historical shift for the Japanese agricultural co-ops group, we urge lawmakers to conduct thorough deliberations, taking into … Continue reading

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