Category Archives: Food & Agriculture

TOKYO, Mar. 11 – The number of inbound tourists who stayed at inns and hotels in six prefectures in Tohoku district of Japan in 2019 was about 1,558,000, up 21% compared to last year, the Reconstruction Agency said. Efforts to boost local tourism, including agricultural tours at fruit orchards, have been successful in supporting a steady rise in the number of the inbound tourists since 2011, the year the Great East Japan Earthquake hit the north-eastern part of Japan harshly. The figure exceeded 1.5 million for the first time in 2019. However, the figure is expected to decline in the first half of 2020, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, … Continue reading →

FUKUSHIMA, Mar. 11 – The export of agricultural products from Fukushima Prefecture is increasing. According to the prefecture, its shipping of farm products in the first ten months of the fiscal year 2019 (from April 2019 to January 2020) was record-high 265 tons, 40% higher than the same period last year. Rice has been a driving force, while the export of peaches and apples grew dramatically. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake, some countries and regions have kept import restrictions on food from the prefecture hit hard in the 2011 earthquake. However, the prefecture has been successful in promoting the sales overseas by exploring new markets primarily in Southeast Asia. … Continue reading →

SHIGA, Feb. 28 – Shiga Prefecture is launching an initiative this fiscal year for protecting the name of Shiga’s signature agricultural product, Omi-gyu or Omi Beef. The action is taken as an increasing number of non-authorized parties are registering the brand names of Japanese agricultural and livestock products abroad. The prefecture plans to file for the trademark registrations in seven countries and regions, mainly in Asia, during the next fiscal year. In its initial budget for the fiscal year 2020, it allocates one million yen for the new project it launched exclusively for promoting the registrations of Omi beef brand names. The initiative will be led by an Omi beef-related … Continue reading →

Tokyo, Feb. 26 – Farm Ministry of Japan said that damage to agricultural products by birds and animals in Japan was 15.8 billion yen in the fiscal year 2019. The figure was reported on February 26, 2020, at the Liberal Democratic Party’s joint meeting on wild birds and animals. The nationwide number dropped for six consecutive years, but 13 prefectures saw a rise in the damage. According to the report, the impact was not limited to the loss of agricultural products -affected farmers are feeling reluctant to continue farming and the number of farmers who decided to exit is increasing. The ministry, therefore, is now preparing an additional survey on … Continue reading →