TPP-11 nations agree to freeze drug monopoly protection period

TOKYO, Aug. 31 ─ The 11 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have agreed to put a provision for drug monopoly protection period on ice, until the United States returns to the TPP. Senior trade officials from the 11 members met in Sydney to discuss how the TPP is being implemented without the U.S. at a three-day meeting that ended on Aug. 30. The drug monopoly protection of eight years was one of the thorniest issues that many members had to concede to U.S. demands during the TPP negotiations. During the Sydney meeting, some members also asked to revise other issues such as investment protection. In the meantime, Tokyo didn’t … Continue reading

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Abe meets new head of JA ZENCHU

TOKYO, Sep. 6 ─ Leaders of Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU) including new president, Toru Nakaya, met with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on September 6, 2017, at the Prime Minister’s Office. According to Nakaya, who is the first JA-ZENCHU chief elected from the Wakayama union, he explained Abe that the country’s most influential farm group is now making efforts to reform itself, and Abe responded: “Let’s work together.” The meeting was attended by Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who represents a district in Wakayama Prefecture. It was the first meeting for Nakaya and Abe after Nakaya assumed the top post of JA-ZENCHU in August, and … Continue reading

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JA Group Kumamoto invites famous Taiwanese bloggers and reporters to share message about Kumamoto food and agricultures online

KUMAMOTO, Sept. 4 ─ An agricultural cooperative in Kumamoto Prefecture (JA Group Kumamoto) hosted a tour for nine popular Taiwanese bloggers and journalists in the prefecture for the first time. The tour gave them an opportunity to discover firsthand how Kumamoto has recovered from the 2016 earthquake through the visits at JA farmers’ markets and tourism farms. Having deeper connections with those who are good at communicating information will hopefully help the prefecture to tell to a wider range of audience how people in Kumamoto stood up after the destruction and how they are offering beautiful food, via SNS (social networking service) for example. It also helps to bring back … Continue reading

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Japan safeguard has no impact on US beef price, says minister

TOKYO, Aug. 30 ─ One month after Japan raised tariffs on frozen beef imports from the United States, Agriculture Minister Ken Saito said it has so far had no adverse impact on the price of US frozen beef. U.S. meat exporters have criticized the so-called special safeguard (SSG) measure as an “artificial barrier” saying it unfairly distorts the Japanese beef market and punishes both U.S. producers and Japanese consumers. Japan imposed the SSG on beef imports from Aug. 01 for the first time in 14 years due to a surge in imports of frozen beef in recent months. It mainly affects the U.S. producers because they are the main suppliers … Continue reading

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Japan’s wagyu beef attracting oil-rich United Arab Emirates

TOKYO, Aug. 27 ─ Japan’s wagyu beef exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reached a record high in 2016, as the high-priced Japanese delicacy has become increasingly popular in the oil-rich Middle Eastern monarchy. Wagyu beef export volume to the UAE reached a record high of 1,741 kg in 2016, up 21% from a year earlier, according to the finance ministry. The exports in the six months to June 2017 jumped 35% to 2,357 kg, exceeding the total exports of last year. Wagyu beef is famous for marbling of fat and the way it dissolves in the mouth. Many Muslims are averse to red meat with blood when cooked … Continue reading

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