Category Archives: Others

KANAGAWA, Jan. 5 – Tokyo University of Agriculture returned to this year’s Hakone Ekiden (Tokyo-Hakone Round Trip University Ekiden Race) for the first time in ten years in the year of the 100th anniversary of the annual athletic event. So did the iconic dancing of the university’s cheering squad. The dance is called Aoyama Hotori or more commonly, Daikon Odori (Japanese radish dance). A farmer who provided the radishes for the dance and a teacher who helped the cheering group members grow radishes praised the runners for completing the race and the cheering group for supporting the runners, saying they were proud of them. The farmer in Kokubunji City, Tokyo, … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 30 – At the Japan Mobility Show 2023, held at Tokyo Big Sight in Koto Ward, Tokyo, Toyota’s autonomous-driving mobile shop vehicle attracted visitors’ attention. The vehicle will address the shortage of drivers and assist people having difficulties accessing retail stores in some areas of Japan. The shop car is a little smaller than a minibus and won’t block tr affic even if it’s parked in a house yard. It has no seat but shelves, a fridge, and a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen. One of the attractions of the vehicle is that shoppers can enjoy chatting with an artificial intelligence (AI) figure on the screen by talking … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Sept. 26 — The education ministry on Sept. 25 designated Tsujun Bridge in the town of Yamato, Kumamoto Prefecture, as a national treasure and issued a notice in the official gazette. The historic stone bridge is still used to this day to provide agricultural water and it is the first time for a civil engineering structure built for agricultural use to be recognized as a national treasure. Local people hope the designation will help promote agriculture and tourism in the area. Tsujun Bridge, one of the country’s biggest arched stone bridges, was constructed in 1854 during the Edo period to supply agricultural water to a nearby plateau. The bridge … Continue reading →

A traditional breeding system for Tajima-brand Beef in Mikata district (Kasumi Town and Shin-onsen Town) in Hyogo Prefecture was certified as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System in July. One of the factors the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognized was how local farmers raise cattle in a space at home called maya and treat the animals as if they are family members. A Japan Agricultural News reporter visited one traditional house with maya, where people and cows live together under the same roof. The house is located in the mountainous village in the Kaijo region, Shin-onsen Town, which sits next to Tottori Prefecture and in … Continue reading →