Category Archives: Cooperatives

TOKYO, Mar. 26 – Japan Co-operative Alliance (JCA) released its first official statistics on co-op business in Japan on March 26, 2020. According to the statistics, the total amount of the value added by the cooperatives in Japan was approximately 5.6 trillion yen. It accounts for 1.9% of the sum of the value added by all domestic industries. The total number of cooperative association members is 15.61 million, and each household is estimated to have memberships in 1.8 associations. JCA will continue releasing the statistics in the future as one of the means to exhibit the broad presence of cooperative associations in Japan. The base figures for the statistics are … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Dec. 12 – ZEN-NOH International Corporation has started to export “Sakura Rice,” a rinse-free rice brand created exclusively for food business operators. On the back of the growing popularity of Japanese food in the world, the subsidiary of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) aims at exploring new opportunities in the export market with the new business-use rice brand. The primary advantages of Sakura Rice are “made in Japan” and effectiveness in cooking processes, and multiple foodservice chains in Singapore, the country with many Japanese restaurants, have already started to use Sakura Rice. So, the ZEN-NOH affiliate thinks it has a high chance of expanding the market … Continue reading →

HOKKAIDO, Jul. 25 – Co-op Sapporo has launched a “Hokkaido SDGs Promotion Platform” for local organizations and companies to promote the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Hokkaido. Its members are 16 entities with interest in SDGs such as agricultural cooperatives like Hokuren Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and their business partners. They are going to gather to make studies on advanced cases and deepen their understanding of SDGs so that they can step forward to make actions. Agricultural cooperatives are expected to play significant roles in achieving SDGs. Co-op Sapporo launched the platform to foster collaboration among a wide range of stakeholders and to implement SDGs … Continue reading →

TOKYO, March. 23 ― Norinchukin Bank, the cooperative financial arms of Japan’s largest farmers’ group, has designated Vietnam’s investment development bank and the Philippines’ BDO Unibank to be its partner banks to address the financing needs in the Southeast Asian region. Norinchukin Bank offers various banking services and providing financial support for the development of Japanese agricultural sector. The two Southeast Asian banks will serve the overall banking requirements of the Japanese bank’s customers who want to invest and establish their business in the region for the first time, Norinchukin Bank said on March 22.