Japan External Trade Organization sets on boosting exports of Kumamoto-made rice shochu

KUMAMOTO, Oct. 30 – Japan External Trade Organization’s office in Kumamoto Prefecture is seeking to boost exports of the local flagship specialty shochu liquor distilled from rice. It organized a tour in early September for alcohol buyers of washoku Japanese restaurants in the United States to visit distilleries in the prefecture. The tour was aimed at familiarizing foreign buyers with the flavor and the efforts that go into production of shochu which, unlike Japanese sake, is still little known abroad. JETRO also supports local distillers conduct market research and develop sales strategy for the U.S. market so that their products can compete with South Korean soju liquor which enjoys strong … Continue reading

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TPP talks without US edge closer to new deal ahead of APEC

URAYASU, Nov. 2 — Officials from the remaining 11 members of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have managed to narrow differences, raising hopes that they could reach a new trade deal without the United States during their Nov. 8-9 ministerial meeting in Vietnam. TPP-11 officials met in Urayasu city, near Tokyo, for three days that ended on Nov. 1. They focused on narrowing the list of provisions that will be put on ice in the hopes that the U.S. will return to the TPP. “We advanced the discussion,” Kazuyoshi Umemoto, Japan’s chief negotiator, told reporters after the meeting. Umemoto said members agreed on certain provisions, including the data exclusivity period for biologic … Continue reading

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JA-ZENCHU opens website to introduce best rice brands of 47 prefectures of Japan

TOKYO, Oct. 30 – Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU) launched a new website that introduces best rice brands from all of 47 prefectures of Japan on October 30, 2017. Viewers can search for mostly-recommended rice brands by specific characters such as flavor or stickiness or even the type of dishes with which they go well. The site opened as a part of JA Group website. There are individual pages for each rice brand that contains a radar chart of scores in eight aspects, as well as a positioning map based on the taste. The new website will hopefully help JA-ZENCHU to publicize distinctive qualities of different rice brands and … Continue reading

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Food product makers and retailers changing best-before date labeling to reduce food waste and discounting

TOKYO, Oct. 29 – More food manufacturers and retailers are adopting durable life labeling of a year and month without a day instead of best-before dates in a bid to provide extended best-before period for food products and reduce unnecessary disposal and discounts, as “food loss” – discarding food which can still be eaten – is increasingly becoming a social issue. The new labeling, introduced mainly for processed foods such as seasonings and beverages, also helps to improve the efficiency of distribution and inventory management, and many companies are likely to follow suit. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, some 6.21 million tons of food that are … Continue reading

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Japanese fruit, flower growers and grocery stores making unique efforts to use Halloween to stimulate demands

TOKYO, Oct. 27 – A growing number of agricultural producing areas in Japan are introducing new products and promotional twists unique to Halloween to make the best use of the shopping season around the annual event celebrated each year on October 31. Flower growers, for example, proposed the use of flowers in pumpkin orange and other matching colors while persimmon producers asked consumers to post original recipes for persimmon dishes, all in order to stimulate the demands. Some grocery stores sold new Halloween-themed fruits and vegetables to capture the attention of shoppers. “How about orange, yellow and dark red gerbera daisies for your Halloween decoration?” An agricultural cooperative in Shizuoka … Continue reading

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