Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

Horse meat sashimi vending machine making big splash in Nagano

NAGANO, May 19 – A vending machine offering horse meat sashimi in the town of Iijima, Nagano Prefecture, is proving popular amid the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling customers to make purchases 24 hours a day while avoiding face-to-face contact. The vending machine service is offered by Wakamaru, a meat seller with more than 100 years of history specializing in horse meat, a local specialty of Nagano’s Minami Shinshu region. While selling products at its shop next to its factory, as well as online and at local restaurants, the firm set up a vending machine with a quick-freezing function at its headquarters. Five raw horse meat products are available from the vending … Continue reading

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Final Evangelion “filmed” heroin planting rice at Oyama Senmaida terraced rice paddies in Kamogawa, Chiba Prefecture

CHIBA, May 11 – “Evangelion 3.0+1.0″ is the final film in the famous Japanese anime series released in March this year. It’s creating a buzz on social media on the actual location of the terraced rice paddies (tanada in Japanese) featured in the movie. Japan Agriculture News confirmed that the rice fields in the film is Oyama Senmaida in Kamogawa City, Chiba Prefecture, in the interviews with the people who have been protecting the landscape. Rice fields preserved by “owner system” to welcome site visits by fans “We can’t tell the name of the movie, but please let us use the scenery in the film.” A nonprofit organization (NPO), Oyama … Continue reading

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The oldest Fordson tractor in Japan confirmed in Gunma Prefecture

GUNMA, May 3 – A Fordson Model F, the world’s oldest mass-produced tractor model, found in the village of Tsumagoi in Gunma Prefecture is attracting people’s attention after a local folk museum confirmed it to be the oldest existing tractor of the kind in Japan. The tractor is owned by Kenji Kaneko, 73, a resident of Tsumagoi who repairs and sells tractors. Kaneko obtained it roughly 30 years ago from a bereaved family of a rancher in Shizuoka Prefecture. The 20-horsepower tractor had been sold at about 10 million yen in today’s value. Although it was rusted and didn’t run when he got it, Kaneko disassembled it, put it back … Continue reading

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“Gohan Oishiku Itadaki-MAFF!!” Official MAFF videos featuring freshly cooked rice build buzz before the golden week holidays

TOKYO, May 3 – “Let’s cook and enjoy delicious rice!” As part of the efforts to increase domestic rice consumption, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) began posting its official videos to talk about the delight of rice and the joy of cooking rice. The ministry’s official YouTube channel Buzz Maff has joined the initiative launched by Japan’s agricultural cooperatives group (JA Group). Its first official video on rice garnered several tens of thousands of views by featuring the first close encounter between a popular Buzz Maff duo and Japan’s farm minister, Kotaro Nogami. The national campaign to boost rice consumption was launched by the National … Continue reading

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Wakayama farm coop worker wins contest for men promoting snacks

WAKAYAMA, May 1 – Aki Okazaki, 25, who works at an agricultural cooperative in Wakayama Prefecture, won an online contest participated by male employees from 30 confectionery makers nationwide promoting snacks of their companies. At the contest, Okazaki, a worker at JA Kinan, promoted dried Japanese plums, the farm coop’s new product. “I am honored,” Okazaki said. “I would like to make use of this achievement to promote sales of local specialties.” The contest, organized by confectionery firm Yamaboshiya Co., Ltd., solicited votes online between late March and mid-April and announced the results on April 23. It received 15,325 votes. “To be honest, I was quite surprised by the result … Continue reading

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