Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

A group of researchers of the Research Faculty of Agriculture of Hokkaido University, headed by Professor Noboru Noguchi, demonstrated an orderly running of four driverless tractors at the University’s campus in Sapporo city on August 18. The four robot tractors were remotely controlled by an operator through a monitoring system. These tractors were automatically driven with the global positioning system (GPS). Before the driverless tractors begin to work, information on running courses on a farm has been put into their respective programming. Receiving GPS’s signals as well as those sent from the terrestrial station for correcting position errors, the four tractors could run almost exactly on the course remotely controlled … Continue reading →

A training program for agricultural newcomers, implemented by Oita Prefectural Government, has achieved a remarkable result in helping the newcomers from other prefectures to settle in the Oita prefecture. Practical training courses such as one-year trial of farm management have received a good reputation among the newcomers in agriculture. Under the current training system, the number of agricultural newcomers from other prefectures has continuously increased from 22 persons in 2011 to 58 persons in 2015. The Prefectural Government supports the new entrants in farming from other prefectures by providing an empty house to them, which is indispensable for new farmers moving to a rural society. This support is also helpful … Continue reading →

World’s top level athletes have been playing exciting games and competitions at the 2016 Olympic Games held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. On the other hand, a hot competition is now intensifying at muggy Daiba in Minato-ku, Tokyo toward a “goal” of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. “Athletes” participating in this competition are flowers. “Flower and Green Events Committee,” organized by related companies marketing flower seeds and flowers in Tokyo, has held a contest of growing flowers at an experimental garden located in Daiba so as to select ones that are resistant to hot weather at the summer season in Tokyo. The Committee plans to make a proposal … Continue reading →

Izakaya “Kome-no-Ie (House of Rice),” a casual place for after-work drinking at Meguro, Shinagawa-ku in Tokyo, is now gaining popularity by paying particular attention to rice-centered menu and high-quality rice wine as well as to decoration in the House. Rice has been regarded as a staple food in the Japanese society, which is only a “supporting player” in the menu of Izakaya pubs. Izakaya “Kome-no-Ie” decided to choose the rice for a leading role, aiming to enhance its ability to attract customers with an “unexpected” function played by the “leading actor” of rice. The Izakaya started its business this July after transforming itself from a casual gastropub with a main … Continue reading →

Food Expo 2016 organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), one of the biggest food trade fairs in Asia, kicked off its five-day run at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre on August 11. More than 300 Japanese organizations and companies, including JAs’ (agricultural cooperatives’) group, respectively set up a booth at the trade fair held in Hong Kong, the largest overseas market of Japanese farm products, which is expected to be a base for export expansion into Asian and other regions. A number of booths opened by JA’s organizations and Japanese companies are strengthening publicity acitivities for stimulating new demands for Japanese products in the international … Continue reading →