Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

TOKYO, June 3 – Restrictions for beef which can be exported to Macao will be lifted from June 8, the agriculture ministry announced on June 2. The government hopes the lifting of the restrictions, which limits exports of beef to Macao to boneless meat from cattle aged less than 30 months, will help further boost beef exports to the city which has recently been on the rise in terms of value. Meanwhile, despite Japan’s strong hopes to export beef to China, negotiations on conditions for shipments to the country have not been progressing although China decided in December to resume beef imports from Japan. Macao conditionally lifted its ban on … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 30 – The number of foreign nationals with a new visa for specified skills totaled 3,987 as of the end of March, a year after the system was launched, according to data released by the Immigration Services Agency on May 29. This is less than 10 percent of the government’s initial goal set for the first year. Among them, those working for the agriculture sector reached 686, also less than a tenth of the government target for the sector. The low numbers are attributable to the complicated procedures for obtaining the visa and the slow approval process, as well as travel restrictions imposed amid the spread of COVID-19 … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 24 – Single people in their 20s pay more attention to reducing weight than getting proper nutrition when choosing what to eat, according to a survey conducted by The Norinchukin Bank. The bank’s officials said the results of the survey indicate the overall decline in interest towards food among young people, stressing the need to promote information on matters related to food. The questionnaire on diet and food safety awareness, conducted on 400 single men and women in their 20s living in the Tokyo metropolitan area between March 17 and 29, asked them to select issues of interest regarding food, allowing multiple answers. The largest percentage of respondents … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 23 – Japan’s weight-based self-sufficiency ratio of pork in fiscal 2019 posted a record low of 48.6 percent, according to calculations by The Japan Agricultural News. While domestic production increased slightly in terms of volume, record high volume of imports led to a drop in the self-sufficiency ratio. The ratio for beef was 34.6 percent, second lowest following fiscal 2000. As uncertainties over meat trading continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of improving the self-sufficiency ratio is increasing in order to build a stable supply system unaffected by the global situation. Calculations on the ratios were made by The Japan Agricultural News based on data on the … Continue reading →