Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

【News】 Agriculture, Commerce and Industry Hook up to Promote Local Agriculture Produce (Nov. 30, 2014)

Kotaro Yamada – Vegetable Treasure Ship (Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture)  – The Youth Group of the Mishima Kannami Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Mishima Kannami) and the Young Entrepreneurs Group (YEG) of the Commerce and Industry of Mishima (CCI Mishima) have joined hands to promote local agricultural produce. They dedicate a wooden boat packed with locally-grown vegetables to the Mishima Taisha Shrine in Mishima-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, on November 23, the day of Niinamesai harvest festival, successfully making it a new attraction of the festival. Their presentation of the 4-meter-long treasure ship with local vegetables on the stage is already one of the highlights of the festival. The wooden boat was made jointly by … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Reduction in rice production target should be coupled with increase in rice for other uses (Nov. 29, 2014)

  The agriculture ministry set the 2015 national production target for rice for staple food at 7.51 million tons, down 140,000 tons from this year’s target. In addition to the national target, the ministry also announced a reference mark for voluntary acreage reduction efforts for the first time. The mark, regarded as a non-binding target for rice producing regions and a measure to encourage efforts to match supply with demand, is set at 7.39 million tons. In order to increase the effectiveness of the measures, it is necessary to create an environment for farmers to shift from rice for staple food to that for feed and other uses. The ministry … Continue reading

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【Series】 Japanese food worth sharing with world – Abura-fu Donburi from Tome-shi, Miyagi Prefecture (Nov. 21, 2014)

  Bowl of rice topped with Abura-fu cooked in mouth-watering sweet-salty soup broth. Umami-rich Donburi to delight everyone’s palate Abura-fu Donburi is a bowl of rice topped with fried wheat gluten (Abura-fu), onions and eggs cooked together in sweet-salty seasoned soup broth. Now it is well-known as a gourmet dish from Tome-shi, Miyagi Prefecture. The soft creamy egg, sweet-savory onions and juicy wheat gluten match perfectly with white rice and the deep flavor of the broth stimulates your appetite. Abura-fu is made by deep-frying wheat gluten bars in vegetable oil. It’s a traditional local food of Tome-shi and was one of the ingredients for the vegetarian plate that was served … Continue reading

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【News】 Hot pots with piece of cake on top? (Nov. 16, 2014)

Hiromi Chiba Hot pots with savory pieces of cakes and cute animals on top. This is becoming a new trend among Japanese families who want to add a new twist to the Japanese traditional winter dish. Don’t worry. The figures are actually made of grated Japanese radish in a way they call “daikon oroshi art (grated Japanese radish art)”. Kazuyo Yamazaki, 35, is also the one who learnt about the daikon oroshi art on the Internet and introduced it to her family. First, she prepares usual hot pot ingredients in the pot. Then she creates some kid-friendly figures such as pieces of cakes and animals using grated daikon. She also … Continue reading

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【News】 Government panel denies legally authorizing agricultural co-op unions (Nov. 13, 2014)

  The government’s Regulatory Reform Council issued an opinion on Japanese agricultural co-operative group’s self-reform plan on Wednesday, Nov. 12, stating that provisions on the JA group’s central and prefectural unions should be deleted from the Agricultural Co-operative Society Law and the unions should become general incorporated associations. The council clearly stated that no legal grounds will be necessary for the unions after the reform takes place, when they inherit the existing unions’ consulting and auditing functions. Members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who are close to the agricultural industry are strongly opposed to the council’s opinion which goes far beyond the reform plan compiled by the government and … Continue reading

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