Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

【News】 ZEN-NOH exercises experimental ocean shipment of fresh strawberries to Hong Kong with controlled atmosphere shipping container to cut transportation costs (Feb. 22, 2017)

ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations), a national business organization of agricultural cooperatives based at Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, completed an experimental ocean shipment of 4,700 packs of fresh strawberries (averagely 200 grams per pack) to Hong Kong by February 22. These strawberries will be demonstrated at Japan’s Strawberry Fairs to be held there. ZEN-NOH has been seeking for a possibility of exporting Japanese strawberries to Hong Kong by sea. Staff members of ZEN-NOH will receive the shipment in Hong Kong and check hardness and shape of strawberry fruits as well as make a research on consumer trends at the Fairs. Ocean freight is much less than air freight, but … Continue reading

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【News】 Two hundred municipalities join campaign of reducing food loss in Japan (Feb. 21, 2017)

“A campaign for all food served to be eaten” is now spreading throughout Japan. A pioneer of the campaign is Fukui prefecture which launched a movement of “Eat all foods to be served!” in 2006. As many as 1,239 restaurants and retail shops joined the campaign against the food loss in the Fukui prefecture by selling smaller portions of dishes and small-sized packs of foods to consumers. The campaign has become common among the people of the prefecture. Nagano prefecture followed Fukui by promoting a similar campaign of reducing food waste in 2010. According to a survey conducted by the Nagano Prefectural Government, an average amount of general waste per … Continue reading

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【News】 Avian flu outbreaks in Taiwan: Every emergency measure taken for containment (Feb. 19, 2017)

Taiwan’s government decided to adopt emergency measures banning transportations of poultries and eggs throughout the country, since outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu viruses have been continuing particularly in a central part of the country. The government is urgently making effort to contain the spread of the bird flu as early as possible, taking into account a lesson learnt in 2015 that a delay in taking measures required at the initial stage caused a spread of the disease in many areas. According to the official announcement, the transportations of poultries will be totally banned for seven days starting from February 17, and the meat processing houses are ordered to suspend … Continue reading

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【News】 Ministerial meeting between Japan and EU fails to break deadlock on EPA talks (Feb. 19, 2017)

Negotiations on the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Japan and the European Union (EU) have reached a deadlock. Regarding talks on farm trade, one of major agendas of the talks, EU negotiators have been continuously taking a strong attitude demanding Japan to open its market at a higher level. It is still difficult for Japan and EU to bridge the distance. Japan’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Fumio Kishida, met his counterpart Cecilia Malmström, EU’s Commissioner for Trade, at Bonn, Germany, on February 17, when the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting was held there. Although Minister Kishida and Commissioner Malmström confirmed their intention to make an early broad agreement on EPA, they … Continue reading

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【News】 Fig genome sequence decoded for the first time in the world to further improve its taste: Fukuoka Agricultural Institute and others in Japan (Feb. 15, 2017)

A sequence of fig’s genome was successfully decoded for the first time in the world jointly by Fukuoka Agriculture and Forestry Research Center operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Government in Chikushino city, Kazusa DNA Research Institute based at Kisarazu city, Chiba prefecture, and Kyushu University. Researchers of the Fukuoka Research Center expect that the latest genome decoding will make it possible for them to shorten the time of fig plant breeding approximately from 15 to 7 years. It is also expected that presence of a gene controlling a shape and sweet taste of a fig fruit will be identified at a stage of seedling of a fig plant. It has … Continue reading

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