Author Archives: The Japan Agricultural News

Singles in their 20s focusing more on staying slim than getting proper nutrition: survey

TOKYO, May 24 – Single people in their 20s pay more attention to reducing weight than getting proper nutrition when choosing what to eat, according to a survey conducted by The Norinchukin Bank. The bank’s officials said the results of the survey indicate the overall decline in interest towards food among young people, stressing the need to promote information on matters related to food. The questionnaire on diet and food safety awareness, conducted on 400 single men and women in their 20s living in the Tokyo metropolitan area between March 17 and 29, asked them to select issues of interest regarding food, allowing multiple answers. The largest percentage of respondents … Continue reading

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Japan’s self-sufficiency of pork marks record low of 48.6 percent in fiscal 2019 amid rise of imports

TOKYO, May 23 – Japan’s weight-based self-sufficiency ratio of pork in fiscal 2019 posted a record low of 48.6 percent, according to calculations by The Japan Agricultural News. While domestic production increased slightly in terms of volume, record high volume of imports led to a drop in the self-sufficiency ratio. The ratio for beef was 34.6 percent, second lowest following fiscal 2000. As uncertainties over meat trading continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of improving the self-sufficiency ratio is increasing in order to build a stable supply system unaffected by the global situation. Calculations on the ratios were made by The Japan Agricultural News based on data on the … Continue reading

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Green tea terraces in Okunagashima producing quality tea for quality time

SHIZUOKA, May 11 – Ashikubo region in Aoi Ward, Shizuoka Prefecture, is known as the origin of Shizuoka green tea. You’ll see beautiful stripes drawn with tea trees and stonewalls on the steep mountainside with a height difference of about 30 meters at the far end of Okunagashima village in the region. It’s “Okunagashima no dandan chabatake (green tea terraces in Okunagashima)” created almost 50 years ago by a local farmer. It once ran on the rocks, but currently, it’s run by locals and volunteers who are determined to preserve this precious agricultural landscape. The owner of the 3,000-square-meter green tea plantation is a 79-year-old local green tea grower, Kyoko … Continue reading

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Farm Ministry: more food education for younger generations is needed as more people skipping breakfast in 2019

TOKYO, Apr. 25 – The Farm Ministry of Japan has released a report on the progress made toward the country’s goals for the fiscal year 2019 in the third national basic plan for shokuiku (food and nutrition education) promotion, on a provisional basis. Regarding the shokuiku for the younger generation, Japan has achieved its numeral goal for inheriting traditional food and dishes. On the other hand, the ratio of young people skipping breakfast was up compared to the rate in 2015. The promotion of dietary education for the younger generation is considered to be very important in the country, but the report unveiled the fact that its effort still fell … Continue reading

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Some 2,400 foreign trainees and workers unable to come to Japan due to COVID-19 outbreak: farm minister

TOKYO, Apr. 29 – Some 2,400 foreign trainees and workers who were expected to work in the agriculture sector have been unable to come to Japan because of the COVID-19 outbreak, farm minister Taku Eto said at a news conference on April 28. In order to prevent farmwork from stagnating, the government will take measures to support farms secure workers using funds allocated in the fiscal 2020 draft supplementary budget, Eto said. The farm ministry included in the government’s draft supplementary budget an emergency measure to support farmers and agricultural corporations having difficulty securing workers because arrivals of foreign trainees and people with special skills have been disrupted to contain … Continue reading

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