A miller develops Japanese flour for Italian pizza margharita

TOKYO, March 8 — A Japanese milling company has developed domestically-produced wheat flour used to make pizza napoletana, commonly known outside Italy as a pizza margherita. Ebetsu flour milling Co. is now seeking certification for its new product from an Italian organization to be considered as flour for authentic pizza napoletana. “We want to contribute for expanding use of domestically produced wheat,” said Ebetsu President Toshiyuki Abiko. “Just knowing that we’re part of it makes us proud.” Japan is one of the largest wheat importing countries, and domestic production only accounts for about 10 percent of its total what supply. Pizza napoletana was given the protected status of a traditional … Continue reading

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Japan to retain safeguard mechanism to non-TPP11 members

TOKYO, March 14 — Japan will maintain its safeguard mechanism in the event of a sharp rise in beef imports to non-members of the revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), such as the United States. The decision came as U.S. President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the trade deal during his first week in office last year. In the original TPP, Tokyo made key concessions by agreeing to abolish a World Trade Organization (WTO) safeguard mechanism and create a new one, as original TPP members including the U.S. were the major beef suppliers to Japan. The WTO safeguard mechanism will still be administered for countries that do not have free … Continue reading

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Japan has 33 fatal accidents involving farm vehicles each year

TOKYO, Feb. 27 — A total of 164 farmers died in accidents that involved farm vehicles such as tractors on public roads between 2013 and 2017 in Japan, with elderly farmers most at risk group, according to a report by the police department. On average, around 33 fatal on-road accidents involved farm vehicles occur each year. Of those, 90 percent of fatalities were people aged over 60, and 80 percent of accident patterns were single-vehicle crashes, the report said. There was a sharp rise of accidents in April, May and September, as farm vehicles had to travel on rural roads during planting and harvest time, it added. Finding support for … Continue reading

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Japan to raise wheat import prices due to higher wheat prices

TOKYO, March 2 — Japan will raise its sales prices for imported wheat by 3.5 percent from April, due to an increase in freight costs and global wheat prices as well as a weakening yen, informed sources said. The agriculture ministry will set the weighted average selling prices for five varieties at 54,370 yen a metric ton ($513 per metric ton). It will make an announcement on March 6. Japan is one of the largest wheat importing country, with 90 percent of 6 million metric tons of annual consumption coming from overseas, mainly the U.S., Canada and Australia. The agriculture ministry exclusively imports and resells the imported wheat to domestic … Continue reading

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Japan opposition has doubts over Abe’s swift TPP-11 passage

TOKYO, March 10 — Japanese opposition parties have expressed doubt about the intention of the Shinzo Abe-led government that was in a hurry to pass revised Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) legislation at the current parliamentary session. They addressed the matter after 11 countries including Japan signed the trade pact, renamed the Comprehensive Progressive TPP (CPTPP), in Santiago, Chile on March 8. “The exporting expansion of industrial goods at the expense of agriculture remains in the revised TPP-11,” said Takahiro Sasaki, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP)’s senior member of the lower house agriculture committee. “Yet, we haven’t seen a clear picture of how to transform the agriculture sector, while protecting farmers from … Continue reading

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