ISHIKAWA, May 12 — Rice planting started on May 11 at the Shiroyone Senmaida terraced paddies in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year’s Day. Some 50 terraced paddy owners from the prefecture, as well as from the Kanto, Kansai and Tokai regions, took part in the planting on some 120 paddies out of the total of 1,004. Owners are the people who pay an annual fee to rent the paddies and cultivate them under a scheme designed to support areas suffering from aging and shortage of farmers. The number of attendants at the event, organized by the Shiroyone Senmaida Landscape Conservation Council, and the … Continue reading →

NAGASAKI, May 5 — Shipments of greenhouse-grown biwa loquats are in full swing in Nagasaki Prefecture. Nagasaki is Japan’s top producing region of greenhouse-grown biwa, holding a 90 percent share. Some 130 growers cultivate the fruit in the prefecture, according to JA ZEN-NOH Nagasaki, a local branch of the marketing arm of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives group. They are expected to ship a total of approximately 200 tons this season through late May, mainly to markets in the Kanto and Kansai regions. Daiki Tomonaga, a 27-year-old biwa grower of Sasebo in the prefecture, cultivates two varieties — Nagasaki Wase and Harutayori — in the two greenhouses. Because loquats are extremely … Continue reading →

FUKUOKA, May 2 – JA Mii, a local agricultural cooperative in Fukuoka Prefecture, has developed a new series of sixth-industry products: Hibiki-brand cold-pressed juice. The Fukuoka-based JA plans to introduce the first-ever cold-pressed juice products from JAs nationwide in late June this year on YASITE, its e-store dedicated to fruit and vegetable sales. Cold-pressed juice is extracted by a slow and firm pressing process that avoids applying heat to vegetables. This method prevents oxidation and ensures the maximum retention of enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients. As the process removes insoluble fibers, the juice is gentle on your stomach and the nutrients are efficiently absorbed by your cells. JA Mii’s cold-pressed … Continue reading →

KYOTO, April 25 — A 1-kilogram batch of hand-rolled new Uji brand green tea leaves produced in Kyoto Prefecture was sold at a record high price of 200,000 yen at the season’s inaugural auction held in the Kyoto Uji tea distribution center in Joyo, Kyoto, on April 24. Horii Shichimeien, a green tea processor and retailor of Uji in Kyoto, made the highest successful bid for tea leaves grown in the Kyoto town of Wazuka at the auction held in the center ran by JA ZEN-NOH, the marketing arm of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) group. The average per-kg price in the auction was 14,271 yen, down from 17,119 yen … Continue reading →