Category Archives: Cooperatives

【News】 Eighty-three cooperative organizations in Kanagawa prefecture to disseminate values of UNESCO’s Heritage “Cooperatives” (March 10, 2017)

“Kanagawa Prefectural Joint Committee of Cooperatives” was set up on March 7 in Yokohama, a capital city of the prefecture, by 83 cooperative organizations such as agricultural cooperatives, fisheries cooperatives, forest owners’ cooperatives, consumers’ cooperatives and workers’ cooperatives. The Kanagawa Committee of Cooperatives aims at facilitating activities to disseminate values of cooperatives among the people in the prefecture. The Committee also plans to organize seminars and lectures open to students and citizens in collaboration with universities and academic people in the prefecture. “Cooperatives” were registered as an intangible cultural heritage of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organizations (UNESCO) last November. In Japan, however, it is not yet well … Continue reading

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【News】Agricultural cooperative in Hokkaido signs partnership agreement with Tasmanian training organization (March 1, 2017)

JA Biei, an agricultural cooperative in Hokkaido, signed an agreement with TasTAFE, a training organization run by the government of Tasmania, Australia, on Feb. 28 to offer young Japanese farmers training and research opportunities during the winter. JA Biei hopes to make the agreement the initial step towards setting up business in Tasmania, which is located in the southern hemisphere with the seasons opposite to those of Japan, so that Japanese farmers can export farm products from Australia when farming in Japan is in off-season. The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Tomeo Kumagai, head of JA Biei, and Jeremy Rockliff, Tasmania’s Deputy Premier and Minister for Education and Training, … Continue reading

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【News】 ZEN-NOH exercises experimental ocean shipment of fresh strawberries to Hong Kong with controlled atmosphere shipping container to cut transportation costs (Feb. 22, 2017)

ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations), a national business organization of agricultural cooperatives based at Chiyoda ward, Tokyo, completed an experimental ocean shipment of 4,700 packs of fresh strawberries (averagely 200 grams per pack) to Hong Kong by February 22. These strawberries will be demonstrated at Japan’s Strawberry Fairs to be held there. ZEN-NOH has been seeking for a possibility of exporting Japanese strawberries to Hong Kong by sea. Staff members of ZEN-NOH will receive the shipment in Hong Kong and check hardness and shape of strawberry fruits as well as make a research on consumer trends at the Fairs. Ocean freight is much less than air freight, but … Continue reading

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【News】 ZEN-NOH’s next target for Japanese beef exports: Asian and European countries (Feb. 5, 2017)

ZEN-NOH Group networked by ZEN-NOH or National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations and its affiliates is striving to expand export markets of “Wagyu” Japanese beef particularly in Asian and European regions. ZEN-NOH has set a goal to achieve Japanese beef exports of 500 tons in 2020, which is to increase by 1.8 times during the 2016-2020 five-year period. Sales of Japanese beef have been growing in the international market. The exports to the United States have exceeded its country-specific low-tariff quota on Japanese beef of 200 tons. U.S. imports above the low-tariff quota are charged the full tariff of 26.4 percent, which possibly makes it difficult for Japanese exporters, including … Continue reading

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【Opinion】Reengineering member associations of agricultural cooperatives (Jan. 24, 2017)

[By Yoichi Tashiro, professor emeritus at Otsuma Women’s University] Agricultural cooperatives are in the middle of eagerly designing and implementing their midterm three-year plan including reviewing their sales and procurement business, as well as the agriculture promotion plan and the self-reform plan. While the situation surrounding global agriculture is in turmoil along with Donald Trump becoming the president of the United States, the farm coops must tackle challenges of reform in order to live up to farmers’ expectations. Meanwhile, the agriculture working group of the government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council suggested halving the number of farm coops engaging in financial business in three years. If financial business is separated from … Continue reading

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