Category Archives: Others

【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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【People】 Shoji Tamura – the first Japanese to win Pomme d’Or in the International Cider Fair in Frankfurt (May 18, 2016)

Tamura Cidre Sweet and Tamura Cidre Brut produced by Shoji Tamura, 58, of Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, were awarded the Pomme d’Or prize in the International Cider Fair Apfelwein Weltweit held in Frankfurt, Germany, in April. Tamura became the first Japanese to win the prize, only three years after the products were put on sale. Tamura, head of Tamura Farm, produces the brands of cider – sparkling wine made of apples – at his farm, giving weight on flavor and aroma. Talking happily about the prize, Tamura said: “Japanese cider is recognized internationally. Now I can be confident of the quality (of the products).” Born in 1958 as a son of … Continue reading

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【News】 Kagawa University studies how to feed edible rabbits without any medicine (May 23, 2016)

Kagawa University, based at Takamatsu-shi, Kagawa prefecture, has continued to study how to feed edible rabbits, with a view to adding a new business of rabbit feeding into the livestock industry in Japan. Rabbit meat is one of the common ingredients in European countries. The rabbit, however, has a nature of being vulnerable against medicine such as antibiotics. Researchers of the University, taking advantage of this nature, aim to stimulate new demand of organic rabbit meats in the country by developing a medicine-free method for feeding management. Domestic rabbit meats, produced only in Akita prefecture, has a small share in the distribution market of Japan. Almost of distributed rabbit meats … Continue reading

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