Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

First Japan-grown strawberries to Australia shipped from Gifu Prefecture

TOKYO, Feb. 26 – The Gifu Prefectural Government and agricultural cooperatives in Gifu began shipping strawberries grown in the prefecture to Australia on Feb. 25, becoming the first in Japan to export strawberries to the country. Australia decided last year to allow Japan to ship fresh strawberries to the nation and the prefecture has completed all the necessary procedures for exporting, including registrations of facilities for production, fruit selection and packaging. A ceremony was held on the day in the city of Gifu to export 20 kilograms of Hanakagari brand and 5 kg of Minomusume brand strawberries. In August last year, Australia lifted a ban on imports of Japan-grown strawberries … Continue reading

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Farm work safety week newly launched to fight rise in fatal accidents

TOKYO, Feb. 17 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries established the farm work safety promotion week for the first time, starting Feb. 16. During the period up to Feb. 26, the ministry will organize events and forums aimed at reducing farming accidents so that the agriculture industry will reconfirm the significance of measures to secure safety at farms. The number of farm workers who died of work-related accidents in 2019 totaled 281, up seven from the previous year, according to the ministry’s statistics released on Feb. 16. The ministry also plans to set up on Feb. 25 a panel to discuss effective policies to secure farm work safety. … Continue reading

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Japan to seek UNESCO listing of sake and shochu as new intangible cultural heritage in or after 2024: Suga’s first major policy speech

TOKYO, Jan. 18 – Japan is planning to propose to UNESCO the addition of sake, Japanese rice wine, and shochu spirits to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritages. Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga confirmed the idea in his first policy speech on January 18, 2021. The demand for sake and rice suitable for sake brewing is declining due to the new Covid-19 pandemic. However, the export and domestic consumption of these two Japanese traditional beverages can increase if they are added to the list. The government is already preparing for the submission, but the new listing may take place in 2024 at the earliest. United Nations Educational, Scientific and … Continue reading

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Eight Japanese entities ranked among top 300 cooperatives: World Cooperative Monitor

TOKYO, Jan. 27 – Eight organizations related to the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) group were ranked among the top 300 cooperatives and mutuals in the world based on turnover for 2018 in dollar terms, according to the 2020 issue of the World Cooperative Monitor report released by the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA). Newly included in the top 300 in the latest annual survey, the ninth of the kind, were JA Keizairen – prefectural economic federation of agricultural cooperatives – in three prefectures. Kagoshima came 133th, Aichi 154th and Miyazaki 193th. National Mutual Insurance Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Kyosairen) was placed fourth, followed by National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations … Continue reading

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Buzz Maff YouTube channel gains 6.1 million views in first year with 364 out-of-box videos targeting younger audience

TOKYO, January 14 – A year has passed since the YouTubers from Japan’s farm ministry made their first official post on their official YouTube channel, Buzz Maff. Since its launch, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan posted one video each day about anything and everything about agriculture to gain attention. As a result, the channel garnered more than 6.1 million views in the first year to prompt many people, including the younger audience who usually have low interest in agriculture, to come and see what they have to say. One of the official YouTubers from the ministry talks only about the charms of sweet potatoes. Another sings … Continue reading

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