Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

Taiwan to reopen market to Japanese beef after 16-year ban

TOKYO, July 19 — Taiwan will lift bans on imports of Japanese beef as early as September, with a condition of a 30-month age limit, officials said. It will be 16 years after this once major market shut its doors. Taiwan banned import of Japanese beef in 2001 due to an outbreak of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), in Japan. Since 2004, Tokyo has requested Taipei to lift the ban, and the two have discussed food safety conditions for imports. Lifting the import ban is a critical first step for resuming Japanese beef exports to Taiwan, though the condition of cattle eligibility is imposed. In pre-BSE era, … Continue reading

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New Orange Bar at Matsuyama Airport in Ehime Prefecture selling orange juice right out of the faucet

EHIME,  July 21 ― On July 20,  at Matsuyama Airport in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture, a bar specialized in citrus made in Ehime Prefecture celebrated its opening. And guess what. Here at the “Orange Bar” located on the first floor of the arrival lobby, you can always buy orange juice right out of the faucet. The shop got the idea from one of the urban legends that “in Ehime Prefecture, you can get orange juice directly out of the faucet.” By showing that the legend is true, the prefecture is trying to impress vacationers and business travelers that they are in the largest citrus fruit producing prefecture in Japan. The … Continue reading

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International Japanese tea specialists growing in number, reflecting tea boom overseas

KYOTO and Nara, June 29 — Given the growing overseas popularity of Japanese tea, the number of international participants of internship programs at Japanese tea nurseries is increasing in number. Some tea gardens are so popular that it receives ten times as many applications as it has places. Many of the programs are the courses of three months or shorter that require no visa. For the trainees, the knowledge and experience gained in Japan will hopefully help them get jobs as instructors or managers of tea specialty shops back home. For tea growers, the trainees are not just new workers but people who can help them communicate the pure beauty … Continue reading

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Japan-EU trade negotiations dealing a blow to Japanese dairy farmers

HOKKAIDO, June 29 – As the European Union strongly calls for liberalization of Japan’s dairy market such as cheese in the negotiations for the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement, dairy farmers of Hokkaido are worried that the prices of raw milk would drop, turning their investments into debts. Milk produced in Hokkaido occupies more than half of total production in Japan, and dairy farmers in the prefecture have fought to halt the decline in the nation’s milk production. However, 80 percent of milk produced in Hokkaido is used for processing, which means their produce will compete directly with products from the EU. The farmers have made efforts to maintain and strengthen … Continue reading

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Japan to help farmers’ access to foreign markets with advice

TOKYO, July 2 — Japan’s agriculture ministry has launched a program to assist farmers to gain access to foreign markets for their agricultural exports by providing advice on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) rules and pesticide residue standards mandated by importing countries. The ministry has set up counseling windows at 17 outlets of plant quarantine associations across the country. On request, hands-on advice will be available free of charge for producers at their farms from specialists on SPS measures and regulations governing pesticide residue in foods. The move is a part of the Japanese government’s strategy to boost agricultural exports overseas in order to offset an obvious loss in the domestic … Continue reading

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