Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

  The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will compile its own agricultural reform plan which is likely to be less drastic than the government panel’s proposal and conforms to farmers’ objectives, party officials said. The LDP’s two project teams, which have been discussing since March on how to reform agricultural organizations, plan to release their proposals in early June, they said. Many LDP lawmakers representing the agricultural sector pointed out that the government panel’s proposal lacks the viewpoints of farmers and rural communities, saying that they cannot see how the proposal actually leads to an increase in farmers’ incomes. They said the panel’s proposal, which includes abolishment of the umbrella bodies … Continue reading →

  Akira Banzai, head of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu), expressed strong opposition on Wednesday, May 14, to a state panel’s proposal on reforming the organization, saying it is far from the actual situations of the organization or the intentions of its members. Banzai said that the proposal, which include breaking up of JA, restricting non-farmer members’ use of JA services, converting the National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-Noh) in charge of marketing farm products into a corporation and giving freer hand to primary agricultural co-ops, does not reflect the JA group’s management principles and can lead the group to split up. He stressed that the JA … Continue reading →

  A government panel proposed on Wednesday, May 14, measures to reform the nation’s agricultural cooperatives, including letting primary agricultural co-ops run their businesses with a freer hand instead of being supervised by the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu), their umbrella body. The Council for Regulatory Reform also said the mutual aid and credit businesses of agricultural cooperatives, known as JA or “nokyo,” should be transferred to the Norinchukin Bank and the Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives, and that non-farmer members’ use of nokyo businesses should be limited to a half of farmer members in terms of value. These measures are apparently aimed at splitting up JA’s businesses and … Continue reading →

  The National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-Noh) announced Monday, May 12, that it will establish a company with Saitama-based yakitori restaurant firm Hibiki Food Service Group to open 50 restaurants by 2019 to offer domestically-produced pork and chicken dishes. The new company, J-ACE Hibiki, will be the first business entity in the JA group to receive investment from a JA fund to promote farmers’ sales of processed farm products. It hopes to support the nation’s meat production industry by strengthening sales of domestically-produced pork and chicken. Both JA Zen-Noh and Hibiki say they can benefit from the joint venture, as JA Zen-Noh has a nationwide system which … Continue reading →