Category Archives: Others

AOMORI, Nov. 13 ― Apple thefts are on the rise in Aomori prefecture, Japan’s largest apple growing region. “Growers are feeling wretched after losing fruits of their labors,” said an official from the JA Tsugaru Hirosaki, a regional farmers cooperative in Aomori. According to the Aomori police, five theft cases have been reported since October, totaling 13,000 apples stolen as of Nov. 12, including 500,000 yen worth of Fuji apples in Hirosaki city and 400,000 yen worth of Fuji apples in Tsugaru city. “And reports to police may be the tip of the iceberg,” the official said. Incidents include a series of daylight thefts, and farmers sometimes can’t notify police … Continue reading →

[By Yuichiro Nakagawa, professor emeritus of Meiji University] In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” which states the member countries’ “unwavering commitment” to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals “to stimulate action over the next 15 years in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet.” Hiroko Kuniya, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s National Goodwill Ambassador for Japan, discusses in a round-table talk published in a cooperative studies quarterly magazine “Niji” three reasons why the SDGs were created and how they differ from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the U.N. member states … Continue reading →

HOKKAIDO, Nov. 6 – “No more sound of buckets No more sound of cows mooing No more sound of milkers No more sound of bulk coolers Every sound of production is completely gone Silence Desolation Tears Tears” Shoichi Narita, 77, a dairy farmer of Nemuro, Hokkaido, wrote this poem to thank his cows, his farm and his fellow farmers who supported him, after he sold all his cows and gave up farming in October. Narita had been running his farm which his grandfather reclaimed in the Meiji Era, keeping 120 cows on a 100-hectare land. But following a major earthquake that hit Hokkaido in September, Narita, his wife Hiroko, 73, … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 21 – Wholesale prices of black grapes such as Kyoho are rising recently, with the average prices of all black varieties marking a record high this year. The price increase is attributable to the aging of farmers, as well as drops in production of black grapes, as more farmers are shifting to production of popular high-priced green grape variety Shine Muscat. “(Black grapes) have often been offered at bargain prices to consumers, but they are becoming more of a luxury item,” a market dealer said. Meanwhile, imports of black grapes are rising sharply amid shortage of domestic products. The average wholesale price of black grapes sold by seven … Continue reading →