Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

TOKYO, Mar. 14 – The Nippon Yell Project Association of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations (ZEN-NOH) and leading food and beverage makers has announced that it will simultaneously roll out the third set of Nippon Yell-brand products, this time featuring ingredients from six prefectures in the Tohoku region of Japan. Twelve manufacturers have developed 18 products, from beverages to confectioneries and bread, and will roll out the products on March 18 to support agricultural producers in the northeastern region of Japan.The association was established in 2023. It chooses specific agricultural products or regions and invites manufacturers in different categories to develop unique products simultaneously. It chose “hyuganatsu” citrus … Continue reading →

TOKYO, March 12 — A research team led by Kyoto University has developed a self-driving speed sprayer to reduce the burden of applying pesticides on fruit trees. The vehicle runs on a pre-set route utilizing the GPS and sprays pesticides while circling around. It can spray agricultural chemicals in a way just like workers with professional skills, and it is estimated that it can help cut their working hours by more than 60%. Fruit growing regions are grappling with aging and shortage of operators, and reducing the burden of pesticide application has been a challenge. The team worked to make the machine driverless also because handling speed sprayers poses a … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Mar. 10 – In the Showa era, one-up sake was just for older men, but today, it’s also for young people and foreign nationals. Naito Shoten is a local liquor shop in Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo, that sells more than 100 types of single-serve cup sake from all over Japan. The shop displays the sake like books on the shelves. The cups were originally designed to be sold locally, so they have distinctive designs unique to regions and breweries. As they come in small portions, people can enjoy comparing different flavors of sake from different breweries. About 15 years ago, an 84-year-old liquor shop representative, Tatsuo Tojo, came up with … Continue reading →

AICHI, Mar. 3 – People celebrate Hinamatsuri, the girls’ festival or the dolls’ day, on March 3 in Japan, and on March 2, Japanese-style confection stores in Okazaki City, Aichi Prefecture, were busy making iga-manju, traditional sweets for Hinamatsuri in the Mikawa Region, or the eastern half of Aichi Prefecture today. They are steamed rice flour buns filled with sweet red bean paste and topped with cooked pink, yellow, and green glutinous rice. They are eaten to drive away evil spirits and pray for a good harvest. Izumiya, a local Japanese confectionery with a 92-year history in Okazaki City, makes iga-manju using carefully selected domestic ingredients. For example, they use … Continue reading →