Category Archives: Others

【News】 Monitors’ dissatisfaction for Abe’s farm policy stands at 66 percent, while 41 percent to vote for LDP and 17 percent for DP in proportional representation constituency of the coming election (June 21, 2016)

The Japan Agricultural News conducted an opinion poll among eligible voters, who are mostly farmers registered as agricultural policy monitors of the News throughout the country, on June 20 before the July 10 House of Councilors election is announced on June 22. According to the survey, 41 percent of the respondents replied to a question on their proportional representative vote by saying they will vote for candidates of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) at the coming election, building up a lead on opposite parties with 17 percent for the Democratic Party (DP) and 9 percent for the Japanese Communist Party. Although a number of respondents farming at rural communities … Continue reading

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【Interview series】 2016 Election: Questions at issue –Shiro Wakui, garden designer (June 14, 2016)

[First in a series] <The upcoming Upper House election focuses mainly on economic policies and less on agriculture and rural villages. What will happen to our food resources under the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement? How did lives in rural areas change under the “economy comes first” policy? These are significant issues that are closely related to the Japanese people. The Japan Agricultural News asked three experts what they think are the issues which need to be addressed in the election.> Current policies regarding metropolitan and rural areas are contradictory in two ways. While the government promotes regional revitalization, it also advocates the “super mega region plan” to encourage concentration of working … Continue reading

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【Opinion】U.S. rice industry’s concerns over the TPP agreement (May 31, 2016)

[By Masaru Yamada, The Japan Agricultural News Senior Special Writer] The rice industry in the United States is not satisfied with the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement. While they won liberalization of the Japanese rice market through the agreement, U.S. rice farmers apparently think the deal also means there is a possibility of them losing the Mexican market, their biggest customer. To make things more complicated, the industry is not single-minded regarding the TPP agreement. To understand their situation, we should be aware that the U.S. rice industry is made up of two completely different regions. One is the southern part of the country which cultivates 80 percent of rice grown in … Continue reading

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【News】 9 Tokyo Metropolitan Governors and Mayors gather in Fukushima to confirm cooperation against damages caused by rumors (May 26, 2016)

Tokyo Metropolitan prefectures and major cities jointly held “9 Governors and Mayors Summit Meeting” in Fukushima city on May 25. The governors and mayors invited Masao Uchibori, governor of Fukushima prefecture, to the meeting to exchange views on how to eradicate damages caused by rumors associated with the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station as well as how to accelerate recovery from the disasters of the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. At a closing session of the meeting, 9 governors and mayors adopted a joint statement declaring to promote publicity activities for appealing safety of farm products shipped from Fukushima prefecture. Four governors of … Continue reading

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[People] Tsuyoshi Hosogane – revitalizing Ojiya, Niigata Prefecture, hit by the 2004 Chuetsu Earthquake (May 5, 2016)

Living in big cities like Tokyo really seems restless. Surrounded by concrete, people look as if they are constantly driven to do more. We suggest to such people to get away from the hustle and bustle of urban life and come to Ojiya to relax and listen to cuckoos sing. More and more people from urban areas are visiting the city to join such events as a harvest festival, a fireworks display and a walking event, and we feel the value of rural villages is increasingly being recognized. Ojiya’s Wakatochi district is a village surrounded by mountains. In spring, trees in the mountains come into bud all at once. It … Continue reading

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