Category Archives: Others

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 →

HOKKAIDO, Aug. 31 – An area in eastern Hokkaido with a thriving dairy industry has recently been suffering from damage caused by an unidentified giant brown bear attacking milk cows and ruining crops of corn for feed. Local hunters are making every effort to hunt the bear, but they have not been able to capture the animal. There had not been any cases in the past of brown bears attacking livestock, but since 2019, attacks on milk cows leading to injuries and deaths have been reported every year. Dairy farmers are forced to continue business with feelings of fear amid the abnormal situation. The unidentified bear is given a code … Continue reading →