EU lifts some restrictions on food imports from Japan

TOKYO, Oct. 10 – The European Union will ease its import restrictions on some Japanese food products effective October 10, 2021. EU introduced the restrictions after the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant accident. Under the rule, it has been requesting exporters of mushrooms from Fukushima and five other Japanese prefectures to submit certificates of radiological examination and other prefectures certificates of origin. These certificates are no longer required except for the wild mushrooms and some wild mountain vegetables such as koshiabura, a popular ingredient for tempura Japanese classic deep-fried dish. EU announced the plan for the rule change on September 20. Norwegian and … Continue reading

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New agriculture minister asks senior officials to actively review policies

TOKYO, Oct. 7 – New agriculture minister Genjiro Kaneko asked for an aggressive review of farm policies in a speech in front of the ministry’s senior officials on Oct. 6. “The agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector is the nation’s basis that supports regional economy and society,” Kaneko said. “I hope you will be free from the conventional approach and review policies aggressively. I want to bring together our wisdom.” Kaneko listed the challenges faced by the sector, including a decline in the number of farms and shrinking demand for farm produce amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “The importance of the role which the farm ministry should play is increasing even more,” … Continue reading

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New agriculture minister attaches top priority on stabilizing supply-demand balance of rice

TOKYO, Oct. 7 – New agriculture minister Genjiro Kaneko said on Oct. 6 he places top priority on measures to ease the supply-demand imbalance of rice. In a media interview, Kaneko stressed that the ministry will come up with measures to cope with the issue as soon as possible. “We will respond to the issue swiftly under our basic policy of producing and selling rice according to demands,” he said. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida instructed him to deal with the issue as rice growers are put under a difficult situation amid a decline in prices of rice harvested this year, Kaneko said. He also said that the ministry will expand … Continue reading

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New Prime Minister Kishida calls for measures to tackle rice price decline

TOKYO, Oct. 5 – Fumio Kishida, president of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, was elected the 100th prime minister at the extraordinary Diet session held on Oct. 4. Kishida launched his Cabinet the same day and appointed Genjiro Kaneko, former chair of the Upper House Budget Committee, as the new agriculture minister. Kishida asked Kaneko to swiftly compile measures to stabilize supply-demand balance of rice amid declining rice prices. The new prime minister said at a news conference that the top priority will be given to tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that the government will put together economic measures to support people and businesses affected by the pandemic. The government … Continue reading

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Heavy rains in August causes 65.7 bln yen farm loss in Japan

TOKYO, Sep. 11 – Estimated agriculture, forestry, and fishery loss caused by the heavy rainfall continued from August 11 in Japan have risen to 65.7 billion yen, the farm ministry said on September 10, 2021. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) confirmed damages on farming land and facilities and agricultural products in 39 prefectures. The early estimate as of August 6 was around 59.1 billion yen. The survey is still ongoing and likely to reveal a further rise in the number, according to MAFF. The estimate as of September 17 is 65.67 billion yen. Those in two prefectures for which the heavy rain emergency warning was … Continue reading

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