Category Archives: Cooperatives

【News】 Government panel head stresses need to take away legal auditing authority of agricultural co-op unions (Dec. 16, 2014)

  As the government works to submit a bill to the next yeakar’s ordinary Diet session to revise the Agricultural Co-operative Society Law, Motoyuki Oka, head of the government’s Regulatory Reform Council, said on Monday, Dec. 15 that the panel will strongly urge the government to abolish legal authority of agricultural co-operatives’ central and prefectural unions to audit member co-ops (JAs). At the panel’s meeting held earlier in the day, the panel’s agriculture working group submitted its proposals regarding the review of agricultural co-ops. The proposals include taking away legal authority from central and prefectural unions to audit primary JAs and introducing restrictions on the use of JAs by non-farmer … Continue reading

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【Editor’s column】 Ruling party’s landslide victory does not indicate public confidence in agricultural policies (Dec. 15, 2014)

  Director General of Editorial Department, Hidenori Uchida The ruling Liberal Democratic Party won an overwhelming victory in the Lower House election, but the party should not take this as public support for agricultural policies, which are part of the Abenomics economic reform agenda touted by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a focus of campaign pledges. Debates on agricultural policies were low-keyed in the election campaigns. The LDP apparently avoided focusing on agricultural co-operatives reform and the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, both of which are included in the government’s “third arrow” of Abenomics. Although they are issues which would influence the future of agriculture and rural villages, voters had no … Continue reading

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【News】 Agriculture, Commerce and Industry Hook up to Promote Local Agriculture Produce (Nov. 30, 2014)

Kotaro Yamada – Vegetable Treasure Ship (Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture)  – The Youth Group of the Mishima Kannami Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Mishima Kannami) and the Young Entrepreneurs Group (YEG) of the Commerce and Industry of Mishima (CCI Mishima) have joined hands to promote local agricultural produce. They dedicate a wooden boat packed with locally-grown vegetables to the Mishima Taisha Shrine in Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, on November 23, the day of Niinamesai harvest festival, successfully making it a new attraction of the festival. Their presentation of the 4-meter-long treasure ship with local vegetables on the stage is already one of the highlights of the festival. The wooden boat was made jointly by … Continue reading

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【News】 Hot pots with piece of cake on top? (Nov. 16, 2014)

Hiromi Chiba Hot pots with savory pieces of cakes and cute animals on top. This is becoming a new trend among Japanese families who want to add a new twist to the Japanese traditional winter dish. Don’t worry. The figures are actually made of grated Japanese radish in a way they call “daikon oroshi art (grated Japanese radish art)”. Kazuyo Yamazaki, 35, is also the one who learnt about the daikon oroshi art on the Internet and introduced it to her family. First, she prepares usual hot pot ingredients in the pot. Then she creates some kid-friendly figures such as pieces of cakes and animals using grated daikon. She also … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Central and prefectural unions’ auditing indispensable for sound management of primary JAs (Nov. 14, 2014)

  Among discussions made on agricultural co-ops reform, many opinions based on lack of understanding or misunderstandings are recently seen regarding the role of auditing by central and prefectural unions. In order to secure soundness of primary JAs’ management, it is indispensable to conduct financial and operational audits as a package under the Agricultural Co-operative Society Law. It is totally off the mark for the government’s Regulatory Reform Council to say no legal grounds are necessary to authorize the unions’ auditing. We believe an auditing system focusing on the special features of co-operatives is the very thing that contributes to an increase in farmers’ income. In reforming agricultural co-ops, the … Continue reading

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