Category Archives: Others

【News】 Kesen-cha green tea devastated by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami is on the verge of restoration (June 27, 2013)

OFUNATO, Iwate Prefecture – Fans of Kesen-cha, grown in Kesen district in Iwate Prefecture hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, are striving to restore its production by providing seedlings and decontaminating tea plantations irradiated by the Fukushima No.1 nuclear power plant accident. Kawasaki Co., a Shizuoka-based manufacturer of tea processing plants, donated 2,000 seedlings of Yabukita and Sayamakaori green tea breed to an agricultural cooperative in Ofunato, Iwate (JA Ofunato), on Wednesday, June 26, and taught farmers how to grow seedlings before transplantation. “We regret that the number of green tea trees in the Kesen district declined and seedlings were lost by tsunami,” said Yasuo Edamura, president of Kawasaki … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Listen to the voices from wildlife in rice fields (June 23, 2013)

  I am a frog living in rice paddies. I enjoy looking at young rice seedlings grow bigger every day. At one time, all of us amphibians got into a terrible panic because of a fatal infectious disease called chytridiomycosis, but we somehow managed to survive. Now it is becoming clear that the disease is not as horrifying to Japanese frogs as some thought. Whew! Thank goodness. Still, my fellows are feeling restless. All of us creatures living in rice paddies, including rice fish, pond snails and diving beetles, are worried because we see less and less human beings in the paddies. You may think that we can feel more at … Continue reading

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【News】 The first longicorn beetle in Japan confirmed in Aichi, damaging cherry and Japanese apricot trees (June 21, 2013)

The Aichi Agricultural Research Center reported by Thursday, June 20, that it confirmed inhabitation of Aromia bungii, a species of longicorn beetle which gives damage to cherry and ume (Japanese apricot) trees, in Ama district in the western part of Aichi Prefecture for the first time in Japan. The center is calling for catching and killing of the beetles if found, since no pesticide labels are approved to exterminate them. According to the center’s pest control division, an adult insect was captured in July 2012, and Nagoya Plant Protection Station has confirmed it as the longicorn beetle. 15 cherry and ume trees near the location where the insect was captured … Continue reading

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【News】 Funeral displays using foreign flowers are gaining popularity with the increase of personalized funerals (June 19, 2013)

  Flower shops and producers suggested new flower displays in line with changing funeral styles in a funeral business fair held in Pacifico Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Monday, June 17, and Tuesday, June 18. Participants at the fair held by Sogo Unicom, publisher of Monthly Funeral Business, said funeral displays are diversifyi ng, as more people are choosing new forms of send-offs for the deceased, such as holding private funerals or skipping funeral services. Besides traditional funeral flower arrangements using chrysanthemums, many exhibition booths showed altar displays and sympathy flower arrangements using foreign flowers such as roses and orchids. “Flower imports are increasing along with the rising demand for foreign … Continue reading

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【News】 Agricultural cooperative in Fukui begins production and sales of electricity using solar energy (June 14, 2013)

  JA Hanasaku Fukui, an agricultural cooperative in Awara, Fukui Prefecture, began selling electricity to Hokuriku Electric Power starting Tuesday, June 11, becoming the first agricultural cooperative in Fukui to sell electricity using solar power. In April, the cooperative installed 1,176 solar panels on a 930-square-meter area of the flat roof of its distribution center in Yamamuro, Awara. The cooperative introduced the system in line with the government’s feed-in tariff scheme for renewable energy, a law which requires utilities to purchase electricity generated from five renewable energy sources at a fixed price for a set length of time. The panels together have a generating capacity of 111 kilowatts, and can … Continue reading

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