Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

Kumamoto Prefectural Government unveiled a “logo mark of Kumamoto’s recovery” on June 15, which is expected to be a symbol of restoration and recovery from the damages by the earthquake which heavily struck the Kumamoto region on the island of Kyushu this April. A flag with the logo mark has been designed with a motif of the face of “Kumamon” which is the prefecture’s PR mascot character, one of most popular “yuru-charas” (literally, loose characters) in Japan. The banner is expected to play a role as the leading proponent of reconstruction of the quake-hit Kumamoto areas. At the press conference, Ikuo Kabashima, Governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, unveiled the flag designed … Continue reading →

“Yubari Melon” produced in Yubari-shi, Hokkaido has recently become the talk of the country after a package of two pieces of Yubari Melon marked a record-high price of 3 million yen on May 26. The “3 million yen effect” is now spreading. At an early stage of midyear gift campaigns promoted by department stores in the country, the number of the orders for Yubari Melon has already exceeded the level of the previous year. Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Store at Koto-ku, Tokyo, one of the most popular department stores in Japan, has put the Yubari Melon in its summer gift list and received orders of the Melon, 50 percent more than … Continue reading →

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries will set up a system to certify chefs of Japanese cuisine, or washoku. The ministry announced a logo mark for the system on Wednesday, June 1. Washoku has recently been gaining popularity worldwide and was recognized by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2013. However, there are cases in which chefs who have not received proper training on Japanese cooking serve food that are far apart from traditional washoku. The system is aimed at improving the quality of washoku chefs by certifying those who have acquired the basics of washoku cooking. The certification is offered in three levels: bronze for those who … Continue reading →

Some of retail shops and food makers began to demonstrate sales of “vegetable chips,” deep-fried thin slices of vegetables, as ingredients for cooking. Vegetable chips are not only taken as snacks, but also used in various forms such as a garnish on the dish. Ryohin Keikaku Co., Lit., headquartered at Toshima-ku, Tokyo, a global corporation operating production and retailing of MUJI (literally, no brand name) products, is now selling vegetable chips with a message of “Enjoy your curry rice topped with vegetable chips!” The Ryohin Keikaku started to sell three kinds of vegetable chips produced with sliced zucchinis and onions this March. A bag of the vegetable chips (35~40 grams) … Continue reading →