Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

【News】 Okayama University team seeks peach exports by ship (July 8, 2014)

  In an effort to double exports of premium peaches to East Asian countries, Okayama University’s research team will set on a trial shipment to establish a low-cost marine transportation system for peaches. Currently, exports of peaches are limited to air freights, as peaches ripen and deteriorate quickly at room temperature but are also vulnerable to low temperature. The research team will start shipping peaches on Sunday, July 13, from Okayama Prefecture to experiment its technology of extending the storage life of peaches to roughly two weeks. The experiment will be conducted for two years, using the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ subsidies offered to projects to develop innovative … Continue reading

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【News】 Future Farm: Veggies grown under LED Lamps (July 6, 2014)

Hiroki Arai – Tamagawa University’s Latest Research on LED use for food production (Machida-shi, Tokyo) – While light emitting diodes (LEDs) are drawing attention as a light source for cultivating food inside sunless factories. Tamagawa University in Machida-shi, Tokyo is making an unprecedented accomplishment in this field. The university has already developed equipment for food factories, carried out testing of cultivation methods and established a unique and integrated sunless food production and sales model. A clean room was installed in “Future SciTech Lab” which was built on the campus of Tamagawa University. Inside the lab, there is hydroponic culture system on shelves with five racks each. The upper ceilings of … Continue reading

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【News】 “Carpet of Flowers” on Bank (July 6, 2014)

  Kotaro Yamada On a sunny day during the rainy season in Japan, the bank of the Takahashi River in Kurashiki-shi, Okayama Prefecture, is covered by flowers, not the real ones but the ones woven into a local specialty called hanagoza, which literally means flower matting. Hanagoza is an igusa (rush straw) matting with a colored floral design in it. By drying the material completely in the morning sun for several hours, one can prevent generation of mold. This process takes place on sunny days during the rainy season to get hanagoza products in stores in time for summer, as they are most popular in the hot months. Okayama used … Continue reading

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【News】 Stay cool with flowing noodles (July 4, 2014)

  Kotaro Yamada Visitors at Asakusa Shrine had an opportunity to enjoy “flowing fine white noodles” at a fun event cosponsored by Japan Federation of Dry Noodle Manufacturers Associations. The noodles prepared by as many as 15 prefectures nationwide including Akita and Kagawa Prefectures were served to 500 visitors a day for free from July 1 to 7 to call an  attention to the Somen Day on July 7 and encourage people to have more somen this year to survive the hot summer. The event was held for the first time, targeting shrine visitors who come to drive away ill luck during the first six months of the year and … Continue reading

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【News】 “Wagyu” beef brands springing up in US (July 4, 2014)

  Hana Saito,  Masaru Yamada 25 beef brands including the word “wagyu” (meaning Japanese beef) are registered in the United States with 12 more filed under application as of Thursday, July 3, it was learned. Beef dealers are becoming eager to register their brands as wagyu beef, as they see business chances in the increasing popularity of Japanese cuisine. The National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-Noh), which markets agricultural products made in Japan, has also applied for trademark registration of wagyu beef. In the U.S., however, beef from wagyu-cross cattle is also marketed as wagyu beef. In order for Japan to promote U.S.-bound beef exports amid intensifying market … Continue reading

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