Category Archives: Farm Policy

KAGAWA, Dec. 15 – A manufacturer and seller of plastic products in Kanonji City, Kagawa Prefecture, Kawasaki Kako Co., Ltd., has developed a very innovative product, a helmet that can also be used as a bowl to serve udon noodles. The product is called Udon Helmet and is made of biomass plastic derived from domestically grown rice. It measures 10 centimeters in height, 18 centimeters in width, and 26 centimeters in length, including a brim – big enough for an adult to wear. It’s designed to sit stable on a table when used as a large bowl for three portions of udon wheat noodles. The brim can efficiently hold condiments, … Continue reading →

HONG KONG, Dec. 8 — ZEN-NOH International Hong Kong Ltd., a subsidiary of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (JA ZEN-NOH) group, will fully open a permanent sales counter on Dec. 9 inside a shop in Hong Kong to sell Japan-made fruit and vegetables as part of efforts to boost Japan’s exports of fresh produce. The permanent sales counter, the first of its kind to open at overseas stores, will be installed inside the Fusion Tai Wo store of PARKnSHOP, Hong Kong’s leading supermarket chain. A sales associate trained for two weeks about the quality, safety and taste of Japanese fruit and vegetables will be regularly stationed at the … Continue reading →

KYOTO, Nov. 24 – Kazuhiro Nishiwaki, a 57-year-old tatami mattress artisan based in Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, makes tatami-based instruments to introduce the charm of the traditional Japanese isuga rush mattresses to the world. So far, he has made more than 120 tatami-based musical instruments, such as guitars and drums. Also, he plays the tatami guitar and sings in a band with peer musicians all over Japan. The instruments are made from recycled materials such as isuga mat pieces left from the tatami mat making. He also formed a tatami promotional band named Nihon Tatami Gakki Seizo, which means “Japan tatami instruments manufacturer” in Japanese. The band has been around … Continue reading →

TOTTORI, Nov. 10 — Reddish purple rakkyo Japanese scallion flowers are in full bloom in the city of Tottori, blooming around two weeks later than usual due to scorching summer heat and little rain. Tottori Prefecture is Japan’s No. 1 rakkyo producing region and the Fukube district in the city of Tottori near the famous Tottori Sand Dunes is the leading producing area. Tottori Sakyu Rakkyo and Fukube Sakyu Rakkyo, Japanese scallions grown near the sand dunes, are registered under the Geographical Indication (GI) protection system. In areas covered by the Fukube branch of JA Tottori Inaba, a local agricultural cooperative, 54 farms grow rakkyo on fields totaling 102 hectares. … Continue reading →