【News】 Outbreaks of pesticide resistance spreading in Japan: MAFF’ survey confirms (Feb. 26, 2017)

Reports on damages of farm products caused by diseases and insects resistant to agricultural chemicals are increasing in Japan, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) revealed. According to MAFF’s fiscal 2016 survey on outbreaks of pesticide-resistant diseases and insects, 1,285 cases of pesticide resistance that broke out on farms sprayed with insecticide, bactericide, or herbicide have been reported. MAFF’s similar survey implemented in fiscal 2013 confirmed reports on 633 cases of the outbreaks, although it is not possible to simply compare the results of these two surveys in fiscal 2013 and 2016 which differ in a way of tallying reports on the outbreaks. In … Continue reading

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【News】 Japanese government to help agricultural high schools to obtain certificate of Good Agricultural Practice (Feb. 25, 2017)

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) jointly decided to mount a nationwide campaign to support agricultural high schools in getting international food certification of the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP). All of 306 agricultural high schools in Japan will be guided to aim at receiving the GAP certification in fiscal 2017. Foodstuffs that are to be used in meals served at athletes’ village of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics Games will be required to get GAP certified. And a number of people concerned with agriculture and food supplies have been growing their interests in the GAP system. … Continue reading

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【News】 WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement comes into force to boost annual global trade by one trillion dollars (Feb. 23, 2017)

A Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO) come into effect on February 22, when the WTO obtained acceptances of its two-thirds member countries ratifying the pact which is needed to bring the TFA into force. TFA is the first multilateral deal concluded since the establishment of WTO in 1995. WTO’s officials expect that TFA will speed up procedures of custom clearance in member countries and boost global trade by up to 1 trillion dollars or 113 trillion yen each year thanks to promotion of global value chains. WTO now wishes to emphasize importance of its role to be played as a leading proponent of global free … Continue reading

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【Opinion】A post-Trump world – Japan should go along with the global trend: second of two parts (Feb. 18, 2017)

[By Mika Tsutsumi, journalist] Ever since Donald Trump became the candidate for the U.S. presidential election, we Japanese have been flooded with almost hysterical criticism of him whenever we read a newspaper or turn on the TV. No reports have been made on the actual situation or the historic background behind Trump’s policies, such as the temporary immigration ban and the building of a wall along the Mexican border, and all the coverage were based on reports critical of Trump coming from U.S. media organizations supporting Hillary Clinton. How many times have we witnessed the phenomenon of media unanimously bashing a particular person or an organization? If we don’t look … Continue reading

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【Opinion】A post-Trump world – the truth behind “America First” policies: first of two parts (Feb. 17, 2017)

[By Mika Tsutsumi, journalist] After former U.S. President Barack Obama shattered the illusions of his supporters that he would bring about change as he had promised in his inauguration speech, American voters chose Donald Trump as the new president in the hope that changes would come this time around. The new administration has begun, with Trump pledging in his inaugural address to transfer the political power controlled by a small group of wealthy people in Washington and give it back to the people to “make America great again,” filling people in and outside the country with hopes and worries. He often uses the term “America First,” which is interpreted by … Continue reading

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