Category Archives: Others

【News】 Japan to join treaty on sustainable use of plant genetic resources in October (Aug. 15, 2013)

  The Japanese government has announced that it will join the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in October, with the aim of facilitating information sharing and technology transfer of genetic resources necessary to develop new or improved varieties. The treaty is intended to ensure conservation and sustainable use of the world’s major agricultural seeds, as well as fair distribution of benefits from their use among member countries including developing nations. 128 countries and the European Union have ratified the treaty, which was approved in Rome in 2001 at the conference of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization. The list of plant genetic material subject … Continue reading

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【Series】 The Chernobyl disaster, 27 years of building trust: Part 4 – Radiation education nurtures awareness of history and health (Aug. 9, 2013)

  Tomokatsu Sowa Strelichevo junior high school in Khoiniki district of Belarus’ Gomel region was closed after the Chernobyl nuclear accident, but resumed in 2003. Currently, some 150 students between fifth grade of elementary school and third grade of junior high attend the school, revitalizing the area. In 2006, the Belarus government built a radiation culture center inside the school with the support of the private sector. The center has a radiation measuring device which can be used by students to deepen understanding for radioactive substances. The device is used in chemistry and physics classes and in club activities. On Saturdays, students operate the device to measure radiation in food … Continue reading

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【Series】 The Chernobyl disaster, 27 years of building trust: Part 3 – The Belarus government’s supervision of farming based on soil contamination map (Aug. 8, 2013)

  Tomokatsu Sowa Bragin is a district located in Belarus’ Gomel region 40 km north of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. After the nuclear accident, one-third of the district which was located within 30 km of the plant has become an off-limit area and its population dropped to 30 percent of the level before the accident. The area of uncultivated land expanded. Looking at the cattle relaxing in rich, green pastures, 52-year-old Yurij Shpilevsky and his wife Tatiana say the place would have become devastated if nothing had been done. They currently raise 10 Holstein cattle and grow grass on a 20-hectare farmland. Shpilevsky, who used to work in a nuclear … Continue reading

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【Series】 The Chernobyl disaster, 27 years of building trust: Part 2 – Multiple inspections serve to ensure food safety in restaurants (Aug. 7, 2013)

  Tomokatsu Sowa Gomel, the second largest region in Belarus where more than 70,000 residents were forced to evacuate after the Chernobyl nuclear plant accident in 1986, has been recovering from the disaster helped by government’s reconstruction projects. In 2008, Europe, a large-scale amusement center with a casino and a dance hall, opened in Gomel, the main city in the region, becoming a popular entertainment spot for young people. In restaurants in the center, waiters serve dishes such as salad sprinkled with grated cheese and neatly dished up pork, and pour berry juice into glasses. In Gomel region, food and drinks served in restaurants also have to go through inspections. … Continue reading

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【Series】 The Chernobyl disaster, 27 years of building trust : Part 1 – Government-led efforts to secure food safety (Aug. 6, 2013)

  Tomokatsu Sowa In July, a delegation of farmers and citizens recruited by Fukushima city visited Belarus and Ukraine that were affected by the Chernobyl nuclear accident which occurred in Ukraine in 1986. A Japan Agricultural News reporter who accompanied the delegation writes about the people who are still struggling with radioactive substances to recover food safety 27 years after the accident. In the Komarovski market in Minsk, the capital city of Belarus located some 340 kilometers northwest of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, roughly 2,000 vegetable and fruit stalls stand next to each other in a 30,000-square-meter land. The state-operated market, centered upon a building with an undulating roof, is … Continue reading

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