Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

  The Fukuoka Prefectural Government has announced that it confirmed the outbreak of kiwifruit bacterial canker disease Psa3 in the southern part of the prefecture. Fukuoka became the second prefecture in the nation to announce the outbreak of the disease, following reports of the disease in Ehime Prefecture earlier in the month. Psa3, the most virulent strain of Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae, could destroy infected trees of some varieties, but there is no cure for the disease. According to the prefectural government, growers cut down the infected trees and trees which grew in a 50-are area around them by Friday, May 9, in accordance with the manual they made in … Continue reading →

  The first case of kiwifruit bacterial canker disease Psa3 in Japan has been confirmed in Ehime Prefecture, the nation’s largest kiwifruit production area, and the prefectural government announced on Friday, May 9, that it will cut all the trees in the orchards where the outbreak occurred. Ehime Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura said the prefectural government was expected to finish cutting down all the trees in the infected orchards totaling 2.2-hectares by Saturday, May 10, adding that it will offer emergency financial assistance to kiwifruit growers’ disease prevention measures to reduce their burden. “The impact of the disease is extremely large, although the outbreak was limited to a small area compared … Continue reading →

  Senior Staff Writer,  Masaru Yamada Japanese beef is set to be exported to European Union nations for the first time as early as in May. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has informed the EU that it approved two meat processing facilities in the nation which meet hygiene standards for exporting, and requested the EU to allow beef imports from Japan. To prepare for the shipment of Japanese beef to the European market, the Japan External Trade Organization plans to hold a business meeting for buyers in Paris and London in June. Although Wagyu beef produced outside of Japan is already marketed in European countries, people “have strong … Continue reading →

  National Agriculture and Food Research Organization will set on a three-year survey in fiscal 2014 to analyze risk factors behind deaths due to walking tractor accidents, in an effort to come up with safety measures. Walking tractors come in various sizes and structures, and are used in various situations including tilling, ploughing and hilling. The organization will analyze different causes of accidents, such as shifting into wrong gear, tractor overturning or handlebars suddenly jumping up. Walking tractor-related fatalities occupy only a little more than 10 percent of total agricultural work-related deaths, but they occupy nearly 20 percent of all agricultural machinery-related fatalities, the largest percentage next to deaths related … Continue reading →