A blog written by Japanese young people living abroad is attracting attention by offering information on food and agriculture of the nations they live in.
The blog titled “Agriters” is written in Japanese by five people living in the United States, Britain, the Netherlands and Nepal.
“We hope the blog can offer clues for revitalizing Japan’s agriculture and rural villages,” said Mikihisa Shiratori, 32, who started the blog. Shiratori, who is taking postgraduate courses at the Department of Land Economy in University of Cambridge in Britain, invited other writers through social media.
A writer who goes by a pseudonym GAK and conducts a research on agriculture and politics in the U.S. posted an article about what kind of impression American people have of Wagyu beef. Many American people think Wagyu is a good tasting beef brand which is produced with a special raising method, the article said, while expressing concern over the fact that few Americans associate the beef brand with Japan. It also reports on the U.S. agricultural organizations’ protest against geographical indications.
A trading company official working as a trainee at a paprika farm in the Netherlands writes under the name mahaloko and reports on the differences between Japan and the Netherlands seen in everyday life as a farming trainee.
The blog began in February and got a total of more than 1,600 page views in a month. Shiratori said he is aiming at getting a total of 100,000 views by the end of this year and hopes to have around 30 writers to post roughly 15 articles a month in the future.