Category Archives: Others

【News】 Avian flu outbreaks in Taiwan: Every emergency measure taken for containment (Feb. 19, 2017)

Taiwan’s government decided to adopt emergency measures banning transportations of poultries and eggs throughout the country, since outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu viruses have been continuing particularly in a central part of the country. The government is urgently making effort to contain the spread of the bird flu as early as possible, taking into account a lesson learnt in 2015 that a delay in taking measures required at the initial stage caused a spread of the disease in many areas. According to the official announcement, the transportations of poultries will be totally banned for seven days starting from February 17, and the meat processing houses are ordered to suspend … Continue reading

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【News】 Project of creating mythical “red string of fate” aims to raise public awareness on genetic engineering (Jan. 31, 2017)

A project is under way to realize the East Asian mythology that the gods tie an invisible “red string of fate” between those who are destined to fall in love. Sputniko!, a mathematician-turned-artist and an assistant professor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab in the United States, approached Hideki Sezutsu, head of the Transgenic Silkworm Research Unit at the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, with an idea to spin the mythical string by inserting genes that produce oxytocin, widely referred to as the love hormone, into silkworm eggs. The project, which utilizes genetically engineered silkworms developed in Japan, is also aimed at giving consumers, many of whom … Continue reading

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【Opinion】Reengineering member associations of agricultural cooperatives (Jan. 24, 2017)

[By Yoichi Tashiro, professor emeritus at Otsuma Women’s University] Agricultural cooperatives are in the middle of eagerly designing and implementing their midterm three-year plan including reviewing their sales and procurement business, as well as the agriculture promotion plan and the self-reform plan. While the situation surrounding global agriculture is in turmoil along with Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States, the farm coops must tackle challenges of reform in order to live up to farmers’ expectations. Meanwhile, the agriculture working group of the government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council suggested halving the number of farm coops engaging in financial business in three years. If financial business is separated from … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan and EU trade negotiators study possibility of upgrading EPA talks to ministerial level in early February (Jan. 18, 2017)

Free trade negotiators of Japan and the European Union (EU) have been looking into a possibility of holding a ministerial meeting between Japan’ Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida and his counterpart Cecilia Malmstrom, EU’s Commissioner for Trade, in Tokyo early February to seek for a final agreement at the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), the Japan Agricultural News found. EPA negotiation teams of the both sides have not yet reportedly bridged their gap in tariff cuttings on some agricultural and other products. Meanwhile, there is a possibility that compromises would be made by the teams that are aiming at giving priority to an early broad agreement on EPA. Their … Continue reading

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【Opinion】 Japan’s foreign policy benefiting the United States (Dec. 23, 2016)

[By Nobuhiro Suzuki, Professor of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences] “It is only the management of a handful of big companies who are making money, and ordinary people’s lives are getting harder. We can’t stand it anymore.” It is true that such voices contributed to the victory of Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential election. However, Trump himself is not necessarily saying he is going to stand up for the ordinary people. He is totally different from Bernie Sanders, who campaigned against Hillary Clinton in a bid to become a Democratic Party nominee. Trump is only saying “America first” and pledging to bring back profits … Continue reading

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