Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

KUMAMOTO, Sept. 4 ─ An agricultural cooperative in Kumamoto Prefecture (JA Group Kumamoto) hosted a tour for nine popular Taiwanese bloggers and journalists in the prefecture for the first time. The tour gave them an opportunity to discover firsthand how Kumamoto has recovered from the 2016 earthquake through the visits at JA farmers’ markets and tourism farms. Having deeper connections with those who are good at communicating information will hopefully help the prefecture to tell to a wider range of audience how people in Kumamoto stood up after the destruction and how they are offering beautiful food, via SNS (social networking service) for example. It also helps to bring back … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 27 ─ Japan’s wagyu beef exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached a record high in 2016, as the high-priced Japanese delicacy has become increasingly popular in the oil-rich Middle Eastern monarchy. Wagyu beef export volume to the UAE reached a record high of 1,741 kg in 2016, up 21% from a year earlier, according to the finance ministry. The exports in the six months to June 2017 jumped 35% to 2,357 kg, exceeding the total exports of last year. Wagyu beef is famous for marbling of fat and the way it dissolves in the mouth. Many Muslims are averse to red meat with blood when cooked … Continue reading →

NISHIO, Aug. 23 ─ Japan’s Nishio Tea Cooperative has filed its opposition to a trademark application in China in an attempt to prevent it from registering “Nishio Matcha,” the brand name of finely ground green tea from central Japan. The Nishio Tea Cooperative, a group of tea makers and retailers in Nishio and Anjo cities of Aichi prefecture, filed on Aug. 21 a notice of opposition with the Chinese trademark office. The Chinese office is expected to make its decision about the application within a year, the Japanese cooperative said. The Nishio cooperative exported about 100 tons of matcha in 2016, accounting for about 20 percent of the total production … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Aug. 23 ─ Frozen vegetable imports from China continue to rise thanks to strong demand from Japanese retailers, industry sources have said. Frozen vegetable import volume reached a record high of 304,415 metric tons in 2016, according to the finance ministry. The imports in the six months to June 2017 rose 12% to 160,060 metric tons, exceeding that of the same period a year earlier. The demand is strong and the trends will continue in the second half, some Japanese trading companies said. The data shows that frozen vegetable imports have been led by spinach, corn and broccoli. Potato imports have grown due to a poor harvest in the … Continue reading →