Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner, the Komeito Party, finally decided an agricultural reform program at their joint committee for agriculture and forestry on November 25. Discussions on the agricultural reform have been focusing on the business system of ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations) or a national marketing and supply business organization of agricultural cooperatives (JAs). In the agricultural reform program decided by the ruling parties, ZEN-NOH will be required not only to streamline an organizational structure for its farm inputs supply business, but also to increase transparency of its handling charges in order to maximize advantages of the cooperative system called as joint … Continue reading →

Koya Nishikawa, chairman of the Strategy Research Committee for Agriculture, Forestry and Food of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), revealed LDP’s own draft of agricultural cooperative reforms on November 21, while the Government and the ruling parties are still continuing to adjust the reform program. An agricultural working group of Government’s advisory panel named as the Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform announced its proposal on agricultural reform on November 7, in which the working group recommended the administration to reduce a number of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) operating financial businesses by half in three years by transferring the businesses of small-sized JAs to Norinchukin Bank or JAs’ national financial … Continue reading →

JA ZENCHU (Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), an apex organization of agricultural cooperatives in Japan, convened an urgent meeting with key lawmakers of ruling parties at Minato ward in Tokyo on November 21. More than 1500 participants, including presidents of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) and representatives of JAs’ prefectural unions and business federations throughout the country, joined the meeting to confirm the importance of reform to be pursued jointly by the Government, ruling parties and JA group. The participants harshly criticized that a proposal on agricultural reform, made by an agricultural working group of the Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform, includes some contents that deny cooperatives, organizations of autonomy and … Continue reading →

The International Co-operative Alliance or ICA, an apex organization for co-operatives worldwide, representing 284 co-operative organizations across 95 countries, headquartered at Brussels, Belgium, expressed its concerns over the latest proposal on agricultural reform made by an agricultural working group of Japanese Government’s advisory panel named as the Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform. ICA’s concerns were raised in its letter sent on November 19 to Choe Okuno, president of JA ZENCHU (Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives), an apex body of agricultural cooperative organizations in Japan, who concurrently holds the post of chairman of Japan Joint Committee of Cooperatives (JJC). In the letter addressed to the JA ZENCHU president, ICA’s representative … Continue reading →