Category Archives: Others

GUNMA, May 3 – A Fordson Model F, the world’s oldest mass-produced tractor model, found in the village of Tsumagoi in Gunma Prefecture is attracting people’s attention after a local folk museum confirmed it to be the oldest existing tractor of the kind in Japan. The tractor is owned by Kenji Kaneko, 73, a resident of Tsumagoi who repairs and sells tractors. Kaneko obtained it roughly 30 years ago from a bereaved family of a rancher in Shizuoka Prefecture. The 20-horsepower tractor had been sold at about 10 million yen in today’s value. Although it was rusted and didn’t run when he got it, Kaneko disassembled it, put it back … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Apr. 18 -　“Wagyu 100%. TV,” a series of videos produced by the Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center (JFOODO) is becoming popular among its target viewers, that is, the consumers in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Through visits of a Japanese on-screen talent Shoei at several wagyu-producing prefectures, it unveils the secret to raising excellent wagyu cattle. Such videos, JFOODO believes, will help it communicate effectively, “Japanese wagyu is a genuine wagyu, and it is different from WAGYU-brand beef produced outside Japan.” A total of eight episodes have already been posted, with some on the visits at wagyu producers in Yamagata, Shiga, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima and others on how to … Continue reading →

HOKKAIDO, Mar. 16 – The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) and Hokkaido University have reported in numerical models that paddy fields contribute to lowering air temperature in summer. They confirmed in the simulations that, on sunny days in summer, the temperature in the area with paddy fields is lower by around 2 degrees than in the urban area and that paddy fields can help control the temperature in a broader area. The research scientifically explained one of the multiple functions of paddy fields. It also finds that this mercury control effect diminishes if carbon dioxide (CO2) in the air increases, and that will make us more susceptible to … Continue reading →

YAMANASHI, Mar. 13 – Yamanashi Prefecture has created a trilogy of videos in English on the prefecture’s official channel on the video-sharing site “YouTube” to present the charms of its agricultural products. It’s part of the initiative to address potential customers overseas, as delivering face-to-face messages is difficult due to the Covid 19 outbreak. The prefecture has posted the three videos, releasing the first one in mid-February. Each content is about two to three minutes long, all spoken in English. They explain that Yamanashi is called the “Fruit Kingdom” and that it participates in the “4 per mille initiative,” a global program to cut carbon dioxide emissions, for the first … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 16 – Soy milk production from January to December 2020 in Japan was record-high 430,534 kiloliters, according to the survey of Japan Soymilk Association. The use of plain soy milk for home-cooked dishes is expanding. However, the production growth slowed down in the October-December period as the number of convenience store shoppers dropped primarily in business districts due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The production volume of soy milk products in 2020 grew 5.3% year-over-year to 430,534 kiloliters. “People today use soy milk quite regularly for cooking hot pots and other dishes and for coffee,” according to the association.