Category Archives: Others

【News】 Big-Eyed Shinto Guardian to Protect Villagers (Jan. 11, 2015)

  Kotaro Yamada – Ashinoshiri Dosojin  (Nagano Prefecture)  – Ashinoshiri villagers in Ooka district of Nagano-shi, Nagano Prefecture, have a huge grim-looking guardian that sits at the border of the village. It’s an enormous mask of Dosojin, a Shinto guardian for the community made of bundles of straws and mounted on a stone marker. The face with big eyebrows and mustache is intimidating but somewhat charming and striking. Every year on January 7, local villagers replace it with a new one and hold Ashinoshiri Dosojin Festival to pray for good health and good harvest over the new year. “Why don’t we make the mouth a bit bigger?” “This is good. … Continue reading

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【Interview】 Tackling soil degradation (Jan. 7, 2015)

  How should we prevent soil degradation, which threats stable food supply? Following are interviews on two experts from China and the United States who have been raising the alarm on conservation of soil in their countries and the world. Northeast Forestry University Professor Liu Shenkui The demand for food in China is growing even further along with the increasing population. As for grains, demand for feed as well as for industrial use such as ethanol fuel has risen conspicuously, more than that for staple food. As the economy expanded, demand for livestock increased, leading to a sharp rise in production of grains for feed. Production of grains for feed … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Ruling coalition’s landslide victory is by no means carte blanche for agricultural policy (Dec. 16, 2014)

  The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito together maintained a two-thirds majority in the 47th general election of the House of Representatives held on Sunday, Dec. 14. However, at the same time, the dark side of Abenomics, such as the widening wealth gap and declining regional economies, reared its head through the election campaigns. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must sincerely listen to the voices of farmers and rural communities. Worries and distrust are surging over the government’s headlong liberalistic trade policies and reform of agricultural co-operatives. He should seriously take to heart that this vote of confidence in the Abe administration is by no means a carte blanche. There … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Don’t cover people’s eyes and ears with state secrets law (Dec. 10, 2014)

  The state secrets law came into effect on Wednesday, Dec. 10. The law will be put into practice amid remaining fears that the people’s right to know and freedom of the press might be threatened. The government set guidelines for enforcing the law a year after the ruling bloc steamrollered the bill through the Diet, but the nature of the issue remains unchanged. The government must not intentionally hide information unfavorable for itself and cover the people’s eyes and ears. The negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, conducted behind closed doors, show us the dangers of confidentiality pacts. We urge the government to make ceaseless efforts to review … Continue reading

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【News】 Finance Ministry proposed to close 5,000 elementary and junior high schools to reduce budget (Oct. 28, 2014)

  The Ministry of Finance held a meeting of the Finance System Council on Monday, Oct. 27, and proposed to reduce about 5,000 elementary and junior high schools in reference to the budget compilation of compulsory education. Based on the basic guideline (12 to 18 classes a school) of The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Finance Ministry will advance the integration and abolition of small schools. They intend to reduce the budget of compulsory education by decreasing the fixed number of teachers. In the current situation, however, as schools are regarded to play a pivotal role in rural areas, some people are likely to oppose … Continue reading

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