Category Archives: Others

Farm Ministry: more food education for younger generations is needed as more people skipping breakfast in 2019

TOKYO, Apr. 25 – The Farm Ministry of Japan has released a report on the progress made toward the country’s goals for the fiscal year 2019 in the third national basic plan for shokuiku (food and nutrition education) promotion, on a provisional basis. Regarding the shokuiku for the younger generation, Japan has achieved its numeral goal for inheriting traditional food and dishes. On the other hand, the ratio of young people skipping breakfast was up compared to the rate in 2015. The promotion of dietary education for the younger generation is considered to be very important in the country, but the report unveiled the fact that its effort still fell … Continue reading

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Number of community organizations supporting residents in rural areas top 5,000 in Japan

TOKYO, April 29 – The number of “regional management organizations” which organize projects aimed at solving issues regarding rural communities totaled 5,236 in 742 municipalities nationwide in fiscal 2019, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced on April 28. Such organizations, which conduct activities to support local residents’ lives including encouraging interactions among elderly people, increased 449 from the previous year, topping 5,000 for the first time since the ministry started collecting data in fiscal 2015. The organizations are mainly created in each of the elementary school districts in agricultural and mountain villages and are operated autonomously by local residents to complement public services, organizing community networking events, community … Continue reading

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Price of cut flowers hits lowest in a decade in Japan

TOKYO and KOCHI, Apr. 11 – The market price of cut flowers is continuing to fall. The daily average of the flower prices at seven primary flower wholesale markets in Japan dropped six yens to 32 yens per one piece, the lowest ever in a decade, according to the daily market index released by the Japan Agricultural News. After Prime Minister Abe declared a state of emergency on April 7, many of large-scale florist chains and individual retailers in big commercial complexes decided to suspend their business, triggering a huge decline in the average price of cut flowers in the index called Nichi-noh INDEX. Offering of the day at the … Continue reading

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“Too real to watch?” Zenkyoren develops Japan’s first VR-based farm accident simulator

TOKYO, Mar. 27 – Japan’s National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (Zenkyoren) announced on March 26, 2020, that it developed a VR-based farm accident simulator for the first time in Japan. The system uses a virtual reality (VR) headset and a smartphone equipped with glasses exclusively designed for that purpose, and people can simulate five types of agricultural machinery accidents. The mutual insurance co-op will start renting the unit to local agricultural cooperatives in Japan (JA) in April this year, so that JAs can use it for training JA staff and local farmers and eventually prevent future accidents. The five accidents it assumes are those while driving a tractor, … Continue reading

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“Phone of the Wind” for those wanting to thank loved ones in heaven Itaru Sasaki in Iwate Prefecture builds open garden with nonworking phone booth

IWATE, Mar. 11 – “I’m sorry that only I have survived. I’ve always wanted to say thank you.” People come and talk to the phone in a white fancy phone booth that stands alone on the hilltop in Otsuchi Town, Iwate Prefecture. Inside the booth, there are a black phone and a notebook. Though the phone is connected to nowhere, people come and visit this place to mourn the loss of their loved one after the 2011 massive earthquake hit the Tohoku region of Japan. A boy who lost his parents in their wrecked house and a mother who lost her daughter in the enormous tsunami came here to talk … Continue reading

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