【News】 Yuji Yamamoto appointed as new MAFF Minister in the reshuffled Cabinet headed by Shinzo Abe (Aug. 4, 2016)

The newly reshuffled third Cabinet of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was inaugurated on August 3. Eleven new members joined the 19-member Cabinet. Yuji Yamamoto, former State Minister in charge of financial policy, was appointed as the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Economic Revitalization Minister Nobuteru Ishihara continues to be the Minister in charge of the Trans-Pacific partnership (TPP) free trade pack. At the Cabinet meeting after the reshuffle, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe directed those ministers to make every effort to seek ratification of the TPP pact at the extraordinary session of the Diet this autumn as well as accelerate the structural reform of Japanese agriculture. At the press conference … Continue reading

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【News】 Rise in Calorie-based food self-sufficiency come to standstill: 39 percent in 2015 as well (Aug. 3, 2016)

Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate in the fiscal 2015 remained 39 percent on a calorie intake basis for the sixth consecutive year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on August 2. An increase in domestic production of wheat and sugar beet was offset by a decrease in consumption of rice, one of the major crops with higher ratio of food self-sufficiency. The Government newly set a goal in 2015 to raise the food self-sufficiency rate to 45 percent by the fiscal year 2025, but the rate has come to a standstill. It will be the most urgent business for MAFF to revitalize production base of agricultural commodities as … Continue reading

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【News】More restaurants and supermarkets outsourcing rice cooking (Aug. 1, 2016)

More retailers, especially small and medium-size restaurants and supermarkets, are entrusting rice cooking to outside suppliers in an effort to cope with chronic manpower shortages. Because of the shortage of workers, some stores are forced to reduce opening hours or even close down their business. This could have a serious impact on rice consumption as well. At the same time, outside suppliers’ quality of rice cooking is being tested, as the taste of rice counts in attracting customers at smaller stores more than at large chain stores.

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【News】Natural waterslide in Oita popular during summer (Aug. 2, 2016)

Ryumon no Taki, a waterfall in Matsuki in the town of Kokonoe, Oita Prefecture, is popular among children who enjoy water-sliding during the summer vacation. The 26-meter-high, 40-meter-wide waterfall is followed by a wide slope made smooth by the waters of the river. Children sit on plastic bags and swim rings to slide down the natural waterslide for about 50 meters. Local residents say the amount of water is larger than last year because of much rain in the rainy season. An eight-year-old girl of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, who brought a fertilizer bag she borrowed from her grandfather who is a farmer, said: “It feels great because I can slide … Continue reading

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【Opinion】Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s “reform” means dismantling of cooperative principles (July 8, 2016)

By Nobuhiro Suzuki, Professor of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences In today’s Japan, the society is in danger of becoming extremely biased in every aspect, as those with overwhelming power shrewdly crush countervailing powers. A proper balance of power is being lost in various cases: the prime minister’s office versus bureaucracy; the ministries of foreign affairs, finance and economy, trade and industry versus the agriculture ministry; the prime minister’s office versus the ruling Liberal Democratic Party; the prime minister’s office versus the media; the ruling bloc versus the opposition; company management versus labor unions; retailers versus manufacturers versus farmers. Globally, we are seeing a big … Continue reading

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