Category Archives: Others

TOKYO, Dec. 19 – The most demanded smart agricultural technology by farmers is a drone that can spray agrichemicals over a wide area, according to a survey recently conducted by the agriculture ministry to grasp technological needs. Other technologies high on the list include labor-saving machinery such as weeding robots and automatic mowers, as well as fruit and vegetable harvesting robots. The ministry plans to prioritize research and development of high-demand technologies in the future. The survey was conducted between Nov. 22 and Dec. 5 on the ministry’s website and garnered responses from 1,095 people including farmers, local government officials and researchers. Each respondent was asked to choose up to … Continue reading →

HYOGO, Dec. 3 – The making of tsurushi-gaki (hang-dried persimmon) on the Kannabe Plateau in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, is now in the very final stage. Members of the association of hang-dried persimmon producers in Kannabe tied two Oomino or Hiratane-nashi persimmons, picked in November, to a string and hung them for about a month to dry. Currently, the producers are busy massaging the persimmons to make them softer in texture. The association will start selling them in mid-December. Cold wind blowing from the Sea of Japan helps the persimmons go dry and generate rich sweetness and smooth texture. They are popular among skiers visiting the plateau and people looking … Continue reading →

OITA, Nov. 14 – In the middle of November, Hita City, Oita Prefecture, held an annual event called Sennen Akari (meaning “a thousand years of lights” in Japanese), featuring fantastic displays of lanterns made of locally-cut bamboo. Around 20,000 candles were lit along the Mameda Town and Kagetsu river areas with historic buildings to create a dreamy atmosphere. The locals began the festival in 2004 to revitalize the local economy and protect local specialties such as cedars and hinoki cypress from bamboo. They cut Moso-Chiku, the biggest bamboo found in Japan, in the bamboo groves next to local cedar and cypress forests every year to make lanterns. The lanterns emitting … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Nov. 5 – Japan Flowers and Plants Export Association, an industrial body working to boost exports of flowers and plants, held a general meeting on Nov. 4 after becoming a general incorporated association to be officially designated under the law to promote exports. The association will carry out procedures to be certified by the government as an organization to step up exports of certain items, so that it can obtain government assistance in promoting sales of cut flowers, garden plants and bonsai potted trees in foreign countries. Under the revised law on facilitating the export of agricultural, forestry and fishery products and food which took effect in October, a … Continue reading →

KAGOSHIMA, Oct. 12 – Representatives from Kagoshima and Miyazaki prefectures in the Kyushu region in southwestern Japan won the top prizes on Oct. 10 at the close of the 12th Zenkyo national wagyu beef competitive exhibition held in Kagoshima Prefecture, dubbed the National wagyu beef competition. Among those awarded the best prize in each of the nine categories in the five-day competition, held once every five years, the prime minister’s award for best cattle in terms of breed improvement went to Kagoshima, while Miyazaki scored the top prize for beef quality. It was the second time for Kagoshima to take the top spot for best breeding cattle after winning the … Continue reading →