Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

TOKYO, Feb. 1 — The agriculture price index for 2022, released by the agriculture ministry on Jan. 31, showed that the index for production materials was 116.6 with the base year being 2020, which means materials prices rose 16.6 percent in two years. The prices marked the highest since 1951 when data became available, up 9.3 percent from the previous year. The index for fertilizers was 130.5, up 27.1 percent from a year before and that for livestock feed posted 138, up 19.4 percent, pushing up the index for overall production materials. The agriculture price index shows changes in prices of agricultural production materials and farm produce. While materials prices … Continue reading →

FUKUOKA, TOCHIGI, KUMAMOTO, OITA, MIYAGI, IBARAKI, WAKAYAMA, SAGA, and NARA, Jan. 15 – Did you know January 15th is Strawberry Day in Japan? A Japanese word for strawberries, ichigo, sounds like ichi (one), go (five), and that’s why. The strawberry is a hot product in Japan, as many prefectures accelerate the strategic introduction of unique new-generations locally to heat up the competition. The new varieties include high-yield berries with good flavors, large ones suitable for branding, and firm-fleshed fruits good for export. And after the race among the fruits with different characters, their unit prices improved, and the total domestic production increased by 20% in 10 years. The competition to … Continue reading →

FUKUOKA, Dec. 13 – Fukuoka Daido Seika, a fruit and vegetable wholesaler at the Fukuoka City Central Wholesale Fruit and Vegetable Market, demonstrated how to make a “Jewel Cut Fruit Plate,” in which fruits are beautifully cut and arranged like jewels. Japan’s agricultural cooperatives group (JA Group) prepared fruits in season from all over Japan for the event that took place at the market on December 13. The company gave the fruit arrangements to children in the hospital and their families. It also hopes the event will help increase consumers’ spending on domestically-grown fruits. The company used fruits sent from several prefectures, such as apples from Aomori and Nagano, persimmons … Continue reading →

FUKUSHIMA, Nov. 7 – Sweet potato acreage is expanding in Naraha Town, Fukushima Prefecture. The town has expanded the production acreage to approximately 50 hectares and opened one of Japan’s largest storage facilities in cooperation with a private company. The evacuation order due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the accident at the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s Fukushima No.1 Nuclear Power Station was lifted seven years ago. Since then, the town has been steadily recovering with its focus on sweet potatoes. On a sunny day in late October, Tomio Ikari, 67, dug for plump sweet potatoes. “Everyone here used to grow them privately in the garden,” recalled the chairman … Continue reading →

SHIZUOKA, Oct. 31 – In late October, a rice harvesting and hanging event was held in tanada (tiered rice paddies) in Kurumeki, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, inviting outside tanada supporters. The participants worked hard, tackling golden ears of rice under the autumn blue sky. Kurumeki Tanada has a long history dating back to the Heian or Muromachi era. In the Sengoku period (the period of civil wars in Japan), the Ii clan supported villagers in cultivating the field. Farmers growing rice with poor water sources and no waterways face difficulties in securing enough water, so they collect rainwater in the rainy season in June to prepare for rice planting. The region … Continue reading →