Category Archives: Others

KUMAMOTO, Oct. 18 – In the Tateno district in the village of Minamiaso, Kumamoto Prefecture, farmers are still having difficulties resuming their business even 1.5 years after the destructive earthquakes in April 2016. Reconstruction efforts have been successfully made to recover water supply and rebuild new roads gradually, but most of the farmers in the region are still not able to resume their business back in their farmlands. Lack of construction vendors The Tateno district was severely hit by the earthquakes on April 16, 2016, with its most evident damage on the large Aso Ohashi bridge. Currently, the rice fields and other farmlands close to the collapsed bridge are filled … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Oct. 4 – Livestock feed maker Itochu Feed Mills Co., Ltd. and IT firm NTT TechnoCross Corporation have jointly developed an application which calculates an estimated weight of pigs from their images captured by smartphones and tablet computers. Determining the weight of pigs before shipment is important because pork carcass quality is first classified by weight and a carcass’ ranking will drop if it weighed below or above the standard. Developers believe the new app can help reduce the burden on pig breeders, as more farms are increasing the number of pigs they raise and weighing them using a scale is becoming an exhausting work. A user can photograph … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Sept. 30 — Megmilk Snow Brand Co., one of Japan’s largest dairy company, has bought a majority share of an Australian cheesemaker for 1.2 billion yen, betting on fast-growing markets in Asia to boost sales of its high-quality products. The Japanese company, with its Australian subsidiary, acquired 90% of Udder Delights Australia (UDA) Pty Ltd., the Adelaide-based cheese company, on Sept. 29. Sullivan Enterprises (SA) Pty Ltd., the Sullivan family business, retains a 10% share in UDA. UDA specializes handmade artisan cheeses that includes white mold, blue mold cheese, goat milk cheese and organic cheese. It sells its products to high-end hotels and restaurants in Australia. The focus on … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Sep. 12 ─ Japan Post Co., Ltd. (JP) is planning to release new postal stamps featuring Japanese daily rice meals such as onigiri (rice balls) and futomaki (thick sushi rolls) on October 24, 2017. The motifs represent washoku (Japanese food), which was registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). A total of 1.5 million stamp sheets with 10 different sticker-type 82-yen postal stamps will be available at 820 yen at post offices all over Japan as well as on JP’s online shopping site. For more information, please contact post offices.

TOCHIGI, Sept. 2 ─ Japan’s transport ministry has tested an autonomous bus on public roads in Tochigi city. The ministry will conduct similar testing in 12 other rural areas this year, with a view to deploying self-driving shuttle services by 2020. With a rapidly ageing and shrinking population in Japan, more municipalities have given up offering public transport services, particularly in mountainous areas. This is why self-driving vehicles are expected to improve transportation access for underserved communities, transforming the way people, goods and services move from one place to another. Transport Minister Keiichi Ishii attended a test-ride event in Tochigi city on Sept. 2, and said: “Through automated driving, we … Continue reading →