Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

Less Japan table rice planted this year; stable price expected

TOKYO, Sept. 30 — Japan’s agriculture ministry estimates less acreage of table rice has been planted this year, even below the target, thanks to a shift in production from table rice to other crops. The planting acreage for table rice in 2017/18 declined by 11,000 hectares from a year earlier to 1.37 million hectares, according to the latest rice outlook released by the ministry on Sept. 29. This was below the target of 1.38 million hectares. Total rice stocks are projected at 1.82 million metric tons at the end of June 2018, if the planting acreage for table rice this year is within the target, the ministry said. That’s good … Continue reading

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US beef imports to Japan rise 22% year-on-year in August

TOKYO, Sept. 29 — Overall beef imports from the United States rose 22% in August from a year earlier, despite Tokyo’s introduction of special safeguard (SSG) measures on frozen imports, data from the finance ministry has showed. U.S. beef imports amounted to 18,038 metric tons, the ministry said on Sept. 28. But U.S. frozen beef imports were down 26% to 4,317 metric tons in August compared with the same month a year earlier. Japan invoked the SSG on Aug. 1 to restrict frozen beef imports temporarily by raising the tariff from 38.5 percent to 50 percent, as the imports rose more than 17% year-on-year in the April-June quarter. Meanwhile, U.S. … Continue reading

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GM canola plants found on roadsides across Japan: NGOs

TOKYO, Sept. 24 — Yellow canola plants growing along highways across Japan have been identified as genetically modified, Japanese cooperatives and civil society groups have said. The civil society groups presented the findings at a meeting in Tokyo on Sept. 22. They carried out roadside tests in 37 prefectures in Japan this year and found GM canola in the wild in 11 prefectures, from east to west and south. What’s more, they discovered multiple transgenic traits of canola. They said foreign-made GM canola is seed that has fallen off trucks during transport to refinery factories. They have pressed companies in vain to transport GM canola sealed in road tank cars. … Continue reading

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Japan Flower Growers Association met to discuss strategies for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games

TOKYO, Sep. 28 — Japan Flower Growers Association (JFGA) met on September 27, 2017, to exchange ideas and opinions for promoting the use of Japanese flowers at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games among its nine member industrial groups. The association has set up three projects under the following three themes: 1) bouquets for Olympic medalists, 2) bouquets for Paralympics medalists and 3) decorations for the entire event. From now on, it’s going to summarize the ideas and the promotional plans based on the three topics. One of the attendees at the meeting said, “We appreciate having an early prospect to make sure that we provide enough quantity of … Continue reading

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Japanese government approves breeding of genetically modified silkworms at a farm in Gunma Prefecture

TOKYO, Sept.26 — A farm in Gunma Prefecture will breed silkworms which are genetically engineered using jellyfish genes starting on Oct. 5 to create green fluorescent silk threads, the Gunma Prefectural Government announced on Sept. 25. It is the first case worldwide in which transgenic silkworms will be raised in an ordinary silkworm farm instead of in closed systems such as laboratories. Experimental breeding is also under way to create silkworms that can spin orange or blue glowing silk, in a bid to create a new industry in the prefecture. The agriculture minister and the environment minister approved the application for the breeding of genetically modified silkworms in an open system … Continue reading

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