Category Archives: Farm Policy

A group in Ishikawa Prefecture collects more than 10 million yen in crowdfunding to recover quake-hit rice terraces

ISHIKAWA, Feb. 22 — A group working to preserve the Shiroyone Senmaida rice terraces in the city of Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, seriously damaged by the Noto Peninsula earthquake in January, launched a crowdfunding campaign to recover the terraces and managed to collect funds topping the initial target amount of 10 million yen. The rice terraces are the collection of 1,004 terraced rice fields and the symbol of Noto’s satoyama and satoumi — traditional landscapes and seascapes where humans live in harmony with the natural environment — which have been added to the list of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The … Continue reading

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Dairy farmer in Hokkaido develops mine clearing vehicle from grass mower to avoid war casualties in Ukraine

HOKKAIDO, Feb. 24 – A 68-year-old cattle farmer in Hokkaido, Mitsuharu Fukayo, has made a commercially available grass mower into a mine sweeping vehicle for Ukraine. Wheels attached to a remotely controlled vehicle will apply pressure to the ground and let underground mines explode. “I want the war to end soon,” he said, praying for peace. Fukayo raises 600 dairy cows as a representative of United Farm, a dairy farm corporation in Betsukai Town, Hokkaido. As an amateur developer, he decided to do something to help people suffering in the war in Ukraine and came up with the idea to design this mine-sweeping vehicle. The vehicle is made up of … Continue reading

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Join ZEN-NOH’s general election and vote for your favorite gummy candy from 47 prefectures of Japan.

TOKYO, Feb. 19 – Vote to choose your favorite gummy! On February 19, the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) kicked off a nationwide competition among Nippon Yell Brand gummy candies made with fruits unique to each of the 47 prefectures of Japan. It will be a poll to choose the best gummy candy from 47 kinds representing 47 prefectures. The federation has set up a unique website for the vote, which is open to the public. The poll will be closed on March 10, and the top 10 winners will be announced on March 29. In November last year, ZEN-NOH completed the Nippon Yell Gummy Candies lineup from … Continue reading

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Japan at turning point to strengthen food security: White Paper on Agriculture

TOKYO, May 27 – The Japanese government approved an Annual Report on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas in Japan for the fiscal year 2022 (White Paper on Agriculture 2022) at its cabinet meeting on May 26. The report focused on the country’s food security, showing the study on the nation’s reliance on imported wheat and fertilizers and their price hike. “Japan is at a turning point to ensure stable food supply in the future,” it said, stressing the importance of expanding domestic production and rising product prices to properly cover the hike in production cost. According to the report, the prices of food, fertilizer, feed, and other materials have jumped … Continue reading

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Japan’s prime minister vows to work on boosting domestic agricultural production

TOKYO, May 12 — Prime Minister Fumio Kishida addressed the fiscal 2023 national conference of The Japan Agricultural News held in Tokyo on May 11 and said the establishment of food supply bases aimed at increasing domestic production will be the pillar of the government’s agricultural policy.   Kishida also stressed the need for structural shift to break away from excessive dependence on imports of food and production materials. The direction of the policies in each field, which will be compiled as early as June for the review of the Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, will be included in the government’s annual basic policies for economic and … Continue reading

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