Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

HYOGO, May 22 — Oriental white storks can be seen searching for food near farmers preparing rice paddies in Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, a town aiming to coexist with the birds designated in Japan as a specially protected species. In the Tajima area, which includes Toyooka, farmers, local authorities and an agricultural cooperative work together to implement stork-friendly farming — growing rice with reduced use of pesticides and no use of chemical fertilizers. They also adopt other environment-friendly measures including winter flooding — keeping irrigation water in rice fields during winter to maintain biodiversity — and the use of organic fertilizers. Biotopes are developed using fallow fields to provide a habitat … Continue reading →

TOKYO, May 14 – According to the farm ministry of Japan, a substantial increase is seen in the number of Japanese primary and junior high schools incorporating gibier, including meat from locally hunted deer and wild boars, into their school lunch menus. The figure has increased to nearly 1,000, a record-high and 2.5 times compared to five years ago. This trend comes amidst ongoing reports of agricultural damage caused by wild birds and animals nationwide. As the bill for the amendment of the Basic Act on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas, which is expected to pass during the current Diet session, encourages the use of wildlife meat for school lunch, … Continue reading →

ISHIKAWA, May 12 — Rice planting started on May 11 at the Shiroyone Senmaida terraced paddies in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, hit by the Noto Peninsula earthquake on New Year’s Day. Some 50 terraced paddy owners from the prefecture, as well as from the Kanto, Kansai and Tokai regions, took part in the planting on some 120 paddies out of the total of 1,004. Owners are the people who pay an annual fee to rent the paddies and cultivate them under a scheme designed to support areas suffering from aging and shortage of farmers. The number of attendants at the event, organized by the Shiroyone Senmaida Landscape Conservation Council, and the … Continue reading →

NAGASAKI, May 5 — Shipments of greenhouse-grown biwa loquats are in full swing in Nagasaki Prefecture. Nagasaki is Japan’s top producing region of greenhouse-grown biwa, holding a 90 percent share. Some 130 growers cultivate the fruit in the prefecture, according to JA ZEN-NOH Nagasaki, a local branch of the marketing arm of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives group. They are expected to ship a total of approximately 200 tons this season through late May, mainly to markets in the Kanto and Kansai regions. Daiki Tomonaga, a 27-year-old biwa grower of Sasebo in the prefecture, cultivates two varieties — Nagasaki Wase and Harutayori — in the two greenhouses. Because loquats are extremely … Continue reading →

FUKUOKA, May 2 – JA Mii, a local agricultural cooperative in Fukuoka Prefecture, has developed a new series of sixth-industry products: Hibiki-brand cold-pressed juice. The Fukuoka-based JA plans to introduce the first-ever cold-pressed juice products from JAs nationwide in late June this year on YASITE, its e-store dedicated to fruit and vegetable sales. Cold-pressed juice is extracted by a slow and firm pressing process that avoids applying heat to vegetables. This method prevents oxidation and ensures the maximum retention of enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients. As the process removes insoluble fibers, the juice is gentle on your stomach and the nutrients are efficiently absorbed by your cells. JA Mii’s cold-pressed … Continue reading →