Category Archives: Cooperatives

TOKYO, Feb. 28 – Japan’s cooperatives, including agricultural, fisheries and consumers coops, have announced that they will launch on April 1 a new organization Japan Co-operative Alliance (JCA) to step up cooperation in tackling issues related to rural communities. JCA will be created based on the existing Japan Joint Committee of Co-operatives (JJC) consisting of 17 cooperatives associations such as the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU) and Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union. It will work to raise awareness of cooperatives’ roles and values by supporting collaboration by cooperative associations nationwide and making policy proposals. “By encouraging different cooperatives to reinforce coordination, we hope to contribute to creating better lives and … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 3 — The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), the apex global cooperatives’ body, has said this year’s International Day of Cooperatives will be themed “sustainable consumption and production”. The day, celebrated annually to raise awareness of cooperatives, is held on the first Saturday of July. This year it falls on July 7. “We believe that co-operatives are an important and efficient instrument to fight poverty,” said ICA President Ariel Guarco at the UN headquarters in New York. “Cooperatives bring people together in a democratic and equal way. They allow people to take control of their economic future and the economic and social benefits of their activity stay in the … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jan. 30 — Japan’s largest farmers’ group is to set up a subsidiary in Hong Kong in March, aiming to make it an Asian hub for Japanese farm and food exports. The National Federation of Agriculture Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH), the marketing arm of JA group, said on Jan. 29 that the Hong Kong unit will be under its subsidiary ZEN-NOH International that deals with exports. Hong Kong is the top destination for Japanese food. In 2016, Japan exported food produce worth 185.3 billion yen to Hong Kong, accounting for a quarter of the nation’s total food exports. Meanwhile, JA group has projected 3.5 billion yen of its food exports … Continue reading →

SHIZUOKA, Jan. 31 — A popular Thai actress, Bow Maylada, made her fourth visit in Shizuoka city, Shizuoka Prefecture. The city of Shizuoka invited her for four consecutive years as part of its promotional activities to have potential travelers from Thailand and other countries know about the attractive destinations they’ll find in Shizuoka, while Japan is becoming more and more popular among inbound tourists. Bow also visited a pilot shop run by an agricultural cooperative in Shizuoka city, JA Shimizu, and posted some pictures of what she found in the city, both local attractions and foods, on her social networking service (SNS) accounts. Bow has nearly 700,000 followers on Instagram, the … Continue reading →