Category Archives: Others

【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

Posted in Others | Tagged | Comments Off on 【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)

【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

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

【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

Posted in Others | Tagged | Comments Off on 【Series】 The Chernobyl disaster, 27 years of building trust : Part 1 – Government-led efforts to secure food safety (Aug. 6, 2013)

【News】 Spontaneous growth of genetically modified plants are found spreading in South Korea, a research institute finds (Aug. 6, 2013)

  Zhezhu Jin The growth areas of genetically modified plants are spreading throughout South Korea in recent years, apparently due to imported GM products that have accidentally been scattered or fallen off to the ground during transportation, according to a report by South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research. Some of the plants crossbred with other varieties in some areas, the report said, prompting citizens’ groups to call on the government to strengthen monitoring and control of GM crops. The South Korean government also set on revising related regulations. The institute has been monitoring living modified organisms (LMOs) released into the environment since 2009, and has discovered spontaneous growth of … Continue reading

Posted in Others | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Spontaneous growth of genetically modified plants are found spreading in South Korea, a research institute finds (Aug. 6, 2013)

【News】 Agave plant in Shizuoka Prefecture flowers for the first time in two decades (Aug. 5, 2013)

  Agave, a plant which is also known by the name “century plant” for its nature of flowering only once in decades, has blossomed in Nishi, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, for the first time in 20 years. The agave, planted by Denjiro Okada, 65, in his field some 40 years ago, first flowered in around 1991. Its stem started to grow up again in mid-April this year to reach nearly 10 meters high by late June, and yellow flowers blossomed in mid-July. Okada said he did not expect to live to see the plant flower again, and asked people to feel free to come and enjoy the flowers. The plant is … Continue reading

Posted in Others | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Agave plant in Shizuoka Prefecture flowers for the first time in two decades (Aug. 5, 2013)