Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

Glowing sea of clouds seen over rice terraces at the height of harvest

NIIGATA, Oct. 3 — Autumn is in full swing in the city of Tokamachi in Niigata Prefecture in northwestern Japan, the season when a sea of clouds is most likely to appear as the temperature difference between daytime and night is large. The rice terraces of Hoshitoge in the city which face east offer a fantastical scenery of the rising sun over the sea of clouds, attracting tourists from home and abroad. The Hoshitoge paddies represent the tiered rice fields in the prefecture’s Echigotsumari region made up of Tokamachi and the town of Tsunan. They are called tensuiden, meaning rainfed paddy fields. Roughly 200 rice paddies stretch out on mountain … Continue reading

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Thriving traditional fishing and culture revolving around the Nagara River in Gifu Prefecture

GIFU, Oct. 2 ― The Nagara River, considered one of Japan’s three clearest rivers and known for the ayu sweetfish fishing, supports a population of 860,000 people living in the basin from upstream through downstream. Ayu of the Nagara River was designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization in 2015 as satokawa, a river that enriches the lives of people in various forms including culture, industry and traditional craftwork. Seiryu Nagara River Ayu Park in the city of Gujo located in the upstream of the river allows visitors to experience live decoy fishing called tomozuri and ayu hand grabbing, as well … Continue reading

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Japan Dairy Association starts offering online weekly comic book about only milk

TOKYO, Oct. 3 – Japan’s first and new online comic book with stories about only milk is gathering the attention of social media users. It’s the online magazine called “Weekly Saturday & Sunday Milk ,” for which ten cartoonists already famous on several social media take turns to provide new stories to share the attractiveness of milk. It’s one of the unique initiatives by the Japan Dairy Association (J-milk) to raise milk consumption over the weekends when no school lunch with a pack of milk is provided to children. The first strip was released on September 30 by Kei Kurata, who is popular for her comic essays about ordinary happenings. … Continue reading

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Tsujun Bridge in Kumamoto Prefecture designated as national treasure

TOKYO, Sept. 26 — The education ministry on Sept. 25 designated Tsujun Bridge in the town of Yamato, Kumamoto Prefecture, as a national treasure and issued a notice in the official gazette. The historic stone bridge is still used to this day to provide agricultural water and it is the first time for a civil engineering structure built for agricultural use to be recognized as a national treasure. Local people hope the designation will help promote agriculture and tourism in the area. Tsujun Bridge, one of the country’s biggest arched stone bridges, was constructed in 1854 during the Edo period to supply agricultural water to a nearby plateau. The bridge … Continue reading

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Chatty AI robot to aid Morinaga Milk in leading domestic milk consumption rise in Japan

TOKYO, Sep. 21 – A powerful aid for Japan’s domestically-made milk consumption appeared on September 20, 2023. Morinaga Milk Industry Co. unveiled “AI Hirano Remiroid,” an AI-based android  made after Remi Hirano, a Japanese culinary personality famous for her charming machine-gun talks. It’s the first TV personality robot equipped with Chat GPT, an interactive artificial intelligence (AI), in Japan. Remiroid advertises domestic dairy products and introduces unique recipes with the famous cheerful voice of Hirano. “Remiroid is my subordinate. I want it to try various things,” Hirano said merrily at the press conference on September 20. According to Morinaga Milk, the appointment of Remiroid is expected “to lead the growth … Continue reading

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