Japan’s farm minister pledges to stick to reform after election

TOKYO, Oct. 25 — Japan’s Agriculture Minister Ken Saito has said he will keep advancing farm reforms “with humbleness,” following Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s recent landslide election victory. The governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and its coalition partner Komeito clinched a sweeping win in a national election on Oct. 22, with a two-thirds majority in the lower house of the parliament. “During the campaign, I received a lot of criticism about our LDP,” Saito confessed at a press conference on Oct. 24. When he visited rural areas during the campaign, Saito said, farmers raised concerns about the Abe administration’s plan to abolish in 2018 the decades-old rice support program limiting … Continue reading

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New colorful attraction growing in ex-rice field in Tokushima Prefecture

TOKUSHIMA, Oct. 26 – A pond with approximately 5,000 Nishikigoi carp in Minami town, Tokushima Prefecture, has become a new colorful attraction for tourists. The carp are grown by a 74-year-old farmer in his ex-rice field. Four years ago, the farmer, Hisao Akiyama, turned his 10-are rice field into a koi pond of approximately 40 centimeters deep to grow Nishikigoi carp to launch a new business. He covered the pond by nets to protect the fish from birds and named it “Nishikigoi-no-ike (pond of Nishikigoi).” His carp grew pretty well with no outbreak of diseases in the pond in the mountains that provide rich flow of water. One day, he … Continue reading

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TPP-11 officials set to meet in last negotiations before APEC

TOKYO, Oct. 25 — Negotiators from the remaining 11 members of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) will meet for three days starting Oct. 30 in Urayasu city, near Tokyo, according to the Japanese government. “We hope we will advance the talks toward reaching an agreement, while keeping the deal ambitious” said TPP Minister Toshimitsu Motegi at an Oct. 24 press conference. The TPP-11 officials will again focus on narrowing the list of provisions that will be put on ice until the United States might return to the TPP. Japan wants to cut the list by half from the current 50 requests. If this is not possible, Japan hopes that the list can … Continue reading

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Singapore’s Changi Airport shop offers Japanese food-themed

SINGAPORE, Oct. 22 — A grocery store specializing in Japanese-grown farm goods is making its presence felt at Changi Airport in Singapore, Asia’s most popular airport, after being open for only a short time. The Premium Japan Farmers’ Market opened in September and features Japanese-grown food, including wagyu beef, sake and rice milk. The best-selling product is a ready-to-eat boxed lunch, the iconic bento, according to ADiRECT Singapore, the operator of the shop. The menu’s main staples are Japanese-grown rice, beef, grilled salmon and vegetables at a price of 980 yen. All the products are supplied by Zen-Noh International, a subsidiary of Japan’s National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Association, known … Continue reading

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Japan’s agricultural cooperatives group releases video to promote UNESCO-listed idea of cooperatives

TOKYO, Oct. 19 – Japan’s agricultural cooperatives group has released online a video in Japanese to promote the idea and practice of cooperatives which was added to the list of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage in November. The seven-minute video highlights the history of cooperative movement, including how it was first established in Germany, how it spread worldwide and the role it plays in the current society, quoting German officials who submitted the idea of cooperatives for UNESCO nomination. According to the video, Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, known as the founding father of Germany’s cooperative movement, established a credit society to support rural farmers who were often subject to exploitative loan shark … Continue reading

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