Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

【Focus】Government panel proposal focus on weakening agricultural cooperatives (Nov. 12, 2016)

The proposals on agricultural cooperatives, released on Friday, Nov. 11, by the government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council, are apparently targeted at shifting focus of debate on agricultural coops reform back to drastic dismantling of the farm coops group which hit the headlines two years before. The key points of the proposals include abolishing the system of farmers entrusting sales of their products to the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) and transferring primary farm coops (JAs)’ financial business to Norinchukin Bank. Such measures could threaten agricultural cooperatives’ businesses and do not in any way lead to realizing the initial aim of agricultural coops reform, which is to boost agricultural … Continue reading

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【News】 Government’s reform promotion council calls on agricultural cooperatives to scale down operations by “withdrawing” from credit and input supply businesses (Nov. 12, 2016)

An agricultural working group of the Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform, Government’s advisory panel, which is chaired by Yasufumi Kanamaru, president of Future Architect, Inc., announced a proposal on agricultural reform on November 11. The working group first recommends that ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Association) or a national business organization of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) should abolish its existing business system of marketing farm products which is based on consignment practice, and launch a new system of purchasing products from farmers to sell them in the market at its own risk. The Shinzo Abe’s administration advisory panel also urges that a half of some 660 agricultural cooperatives (JAs) … Continue reading

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【News】Footpaths in Kumamoto reopen after the April earthquake (Oct. 8, 2016)

Footpaths in Misato town, Kumamoto Prefecture, which had been closed since April due to the strong earthquake, recently reopened, attracting many tourists wishing to enjoy the satoyama landscape. The town created the footpaths in 2011 in order to invite more visitors to the depopulated community. Some 1,300 people come to the town every year to walk on 15 routes and participate in walking events. However, the April earthquake which hit the region caused damage on parts of the roads, making them impassable. The Misato footpath association set up no-entry signs on such roads and created detour routes to reopen the footpaths on Sept. 17. Although three of the walking routes … Continue reading

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【News】 Eligibility requirements for agricultural income insurance to be widened: Farmers filing one-year income-tax return could be applicants (Nov. 9, 2016)

The Japan Agricultural News found out on November 8 that the Government and ruling parties are making final adjustments so as to work out a special measure to expand eligibility requirements for application of an agricultural income insurance scheme. One of the main eligibility criteria required for participants in the income insurance scheme is that applicants of farmers can show that they have continuously filed “blue” income-tax returns for the past five years. With a view to facilitating farmers’ participation in the scheme, the Government and ruling parties are considering the special measure to approve application of farmers who have filed a blue income-tax return only for a previous year … Continue reading

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【News】 Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform recommends drastic change of ZEN-NOH’s farm input supply system (Nov. 8, 2016)

The Council for Promotion of Regulatory Reform, Shinzo Abe’s administration advisory panel, made a final list of recommendations, on November 7, concerning reforms which are to be implemented by ZEN-NOH (National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Association) or a national business organization of agricultural cooperatives (JAs) as well as by designated organizations of raw milk producers. One of the key recommendations made by the Council calls for ZEN-NOH to drastically reform its farm input supply business which receives commissions from farmers through its member JAs in accordance with supply prices of agricultural inputs. The panel urges that ZEN-NOH should reform its supply business into a kind of consulting service which provides … Continue reading

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