Category Archives: Cooperatives

TOKYO, Jan. 27 – Eight organizations related to the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) group were ranked among the top 300 cooperatives and mutuals in the world based on turnover for 2018 in dollar terms, according to the 2020 issue of the World Cooperative Monitor report released by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). Newly included in the top 300 in the latest annual survey, the ninth of the kind, were JA Keizairen – prefectural economic federation of agricultural cooperatives – in three prefectures. Kagoshima came 133th, Aichi 154th and Miyazaki 193th. National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Kyosairen) was placed fourth, followed by National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 12 – The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA), comprising 311 cooperatives in 109 countries, has released its strategic plan for the coming decade, focusing on facilitating cooperation among cooperatives in such areas as technology. The 2020-2030 Strategic Plan recommits to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals which are also intended to be achieved by 2030, by identifying indicators to estimate the contribution made by cooperatives. The plan also calls for launching a cooperative International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification and promoting cooperative education and training. The ICA, with more than 1.2 billion members worldwide, created the new strategic plan based on the 2020 Vision approved in 2012 as a … Continue reading →

Jul. 4, TOKYO – According to the announcement of the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU), its current Chairman Toru Nakaya was re-elected at the election held on July 3. The 70-year-old chairman of a Wakayama-based agricultural cooperative (JA Wakayama Chuo) won out over Shojiro Nakanishi, a 69-year-old chairman of a Tokushima-based agricultural cooperative (JP Tokushima Chuo). Nakaya will start his second term as JA-ZENCHU Chairman at an ordinary general meeting on August 20. “I’m determined to devote myself to blaze a new path to the future of Japan’s agriculture, farm villages, and agricultural cooperatives,” he said in his comment after the election. He will keep the focus on internal … Continue reading →

TOKYO, June 1 – The Norinchukin Bank, a national-level financial institution for agricultural, forestry and fisheries cooperatives in Japan, announced that it has invested $1.4 billion (¥150 billion) in World Bank bonds to support financing of sustainable development projects in developing countries. Sustainable Development Bonds issued by the World Bank for Norinchukin will finance projects that are designed to help achieve four of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including “zero hunger,” the goals that the Norinchukin Bank considers important. It is the first time for the World Bank to launch bonds solely for an institutional investor in Japan. The other goals chosen to be addressed are “climate … Continue reading →

FUKUOKA, Apr. 25 – How about a special treat of a flower for people having pizza delivery at home? A new collaboration between an agricultural cooperative in Fukuoka Prefecture (JA Fukuokashi) and a local pizza delivery chain has begun, and if you order a pizza for home delivery, you are also receiving a flower as a gift from the JA. The coronavirus outbreak hit flower demand in Japan, but on the contrary, the use of food delivery services is increasing as more people stay home. So, JA Fukuokashi decided to combine them to encourage more people to enjoy flowers at home and create new flower fans. The local co-ops have … Continue reading →