GIFU, June 9 – A six-grade boy of Seki, Gifu Prefecture, has developed a trap to catch channeled apple snails using a plastic flower pot and a plastic bottle. Chihiro Kuriyama won the Seki mayor’s prize with the invention, and the city plans to use the trap to get rid of the agricultural pest. Kuriyama came up with the idea of developing a trap after a farmer told him that rice farmers are troubled by channeled apple snails causing damage to rice plants but they want to avoid using strong agricultural chemicals as much as possible. He was shocked to see the big size of the snails and their pink … Continue reading →

MIYAZAKI, May 30 – A research team of the University of Miyazaki and other institutions has developed a set of glasses equipped with a camera which enables wearers to measure pigs’ weight just by looking at them. By combining artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology, the device can estimate the weight in a matter of seconds, largely reducing the burden of pig farmers. They can get an estimated live weight and carcass weight of pigs while working on other tasks. The margin of error is within roughly 4 percentage points, and the team is aiming at commercializing the product. The system involves gathering data from a 3D camera and a … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 22 – JTB Corporation, Japan’s major travel company, and two other Japanese firms, including a subsidiary of ABC Cooking Studio Co., have launched a joint project to export Japanese frozen meal kits and foods. The three-company consortium aims at creating new sales channels by targeting overseas consumers who want to enjoy readily available Japanese food at home while their chances for dining out and visiting Japan keep decreasing. The project was launched by JTB, ABC Mall, and an IT-based farming logistics solution company, We Agri Inc. They plan to export the frozen food and dishes initially to Singapore, where high demand for Japanese food and ingredients is expected. … Continue reading →

KAGOSHIMA, May 20 – Yukari Miyazawa, a 38-year-old resident of Okinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, has started selling playdough made from irregular potatoes after learning that they are being disposed of. “I hope people will have more interest in the issue of food waste through the product,” Miyazawa said. Miyazawa moved to the island from Okinawa Prefecture in 2018 with her husband who was transferred there. She learned that potatoes, the local specialty, are often wasted if they are damaged and are not suitable for shipping, and looked for ways to recycle them. She found out that it is possible to make playdough by mixing starch extracted from potatoes with … Continue reading →

NAGANO, May 19 – A vending machine offering horse meat sashimi in the town of Iijima, Nagano Prefecture, is proving popular amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling customers to make purchases 24 hours a day while avoiding face-to-face contact. The vending machine service is offered by Wakamaru, a meat seller with more than 100 years of history specializing in horse meat, a local specialty of Nagano’s Minami Shinshu region. While selling products at its shop next to its factory, as well as online and at local restaurants, the firm set up a vending machine with a quick-freezing function at its headquarters. Five raw horse meat products are available from the vending … Continue reading →