Kasumi Ishikawa visits ZEN-NOH, says “I particularly enjoy eating rice overseas!”

TOKYO, Feb. 8 – Kasumi Ishikawa, a professional table tennis player and a member of the table tennis club of National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH), visited the ZEN-NOH office in Otemachi, Tokyo, on February 7 to update her activities. “I enjoy eating rice after the games overseas,” she said while speaking about what she eats before the games and while traveling overseas. Ishikawa also added that she always bring a rice cooker with her when she goes abroad to play games and that she pays attention to eating a lot of well-balanced food after the games as she loses weight from playing hard. “I’m thankful to ZEN-NOH for … Continue reading

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Japan must not compromise in trade talks with U.S.: head of Japanese farm coops

TOKYO, Feb. 8 – Toru Nakaya, chairman of the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU), visited the United States in January for the first time since assigned to the post in August, and held talks with leaders of U.S. farm groups to discuss issues concerning agriculture, trade negotiations and cooperatives. In an interview with The Japan Agricultural News after the visit, Nakaya said U.S. farm groups were paying strong attention to bilateral or trilateral trade agreements, but remain uncertain about U.S. President Donald Trump’s intention behind indicating the possibility of the U.S. returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership framework. Q. What were your objectives of visiting the U.S.? A. Various issues exist between … Continue reading

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“Evil out and fortune in!” Throw and get showered with dry roasted soybeans in Honbetsu, Tokachi, Hokkaido: Honbetsu Mamemaka Night Festival

HOKKAIDO, Feb. 4 – On February 3 each year, people in Japan does a “mamemaki” (literally “bean scattering”) traditional ritual of throwing soybeans to cleanse away evil spirits symbolized by oni, supernatural demons that often appear in Japanese folklore. But, people here in Honbetsu town, Hokkaido, have a lot more to do with the mamemaki. They have an event called Honbetsu Mame-maka Night (literally “you gotta throw beans tonight in Honbetsu”) that uses 2 tons of dry roasted soybeans to drive away an ill fortune. The youth group of a local agricultural cooperative (JA Honbetsu-cho) supports the event to promote soybeans, the local specialties of Honbetsu. This year’s festival was … Continue reading

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US wants Japan to change beef safeguard, auto regulations

TOKYO, Jan. 27 — Japanese and U.S. officials have met in Tokyo to identify trade issues relevant to the two countries, ahead of a third round of Japan-U.S. Economic Dialogue to be held in spring. During the bilateral talks that ended on Jan. 26, Washington’s demands echoed what President Donald Trump has been preaching — lowering the U.S. trade deficit with Japan. Washington demanded Tokyo change requirements in its safeguard mechanism for frozen U.S. beef imports to avoid triggering a raise in tariffs. Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Japan has the right to invoke the safeguard to restrict frozen beef imports temporarily when the imports rise more than 17% … Continue reading

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Japan’s flower exports hit 13.5 billion yen in 2017 as bonsai becomes increasingly popular

TOKYO, Feb. 1 — In 2017, Japan’s flower exports reached 13.5 billion yen, according to the statistics released by Ministry of Finance of Japan. It grew 50% from the previous year, exceeding 10 billion yen for the first time. The growth was driven by the growing popularity of bonsai miniature potted plant in overseas markets, which lead to the large shipment of garden trees and bonsai miniature potted plants mainly in China. Exports of garden trees and bonsai plants accounted for 90% and saw an annual jump of 57% over the previous year to 12.6 billion yen. Japan’s biggest flower market overseas was China, to whom it exported the products … Continue reading

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