【News】 Democratic Party presses Government to reveal details of TPP ministerial talks between Japan and United States (April 4, 2016)

Government officials told members of the Democratic Party (DP) at DP’s meeting held on March 29 that all of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ministerial talks between Japan and the United States had proceeded without recording those talks in any form of minutes. According to the Japanese Government’s TPP Headquarters at the Cabinet Secretariat Office, the two governments could have found it more difficult for them to exchange free-handed views to find out a solution for concluding the trade talks, if negotiators’ remarks were recorded in the minutes and they tried to obtain partner’s pledge in those minutes of previous meetings. The governmental officials also told the DP lawmakers that the … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan Agricultural News’ poll: Approval rating for Abe’s Cabinet stands at 33 percent (April 1, 2016)

The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet was 33 percent, while the disapproval rating further rose to 64 percent, according to the poll conducted in March by the Japan Agricultural News for its subscribers, mostly farmers, registered as agricultural policy monitors throughout the country. These figures have been supposedly reflected by dissatisfaction with Abe’s Administration, prevailing among farmers and their supporters, which agreed on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact with 11 countries and plans to carry out a radical reform in the agricultural policy. The Cabinet’s support rate marked a decline whenever an agricultural policy reform was advocated by the government. When the farm policy reform … Continue reading

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【Column】The world’s “poorest” president (April 6, 2016)

Jose Mujica, 80, former president of Uruguay who is described as “the world’s poorest president,” has made his first visit to Japan. He captured the world’s attention in 2012 when he delivered a legendary speech at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil. People were deeply moved by his message that development cannot go against happiness. In his speech, he questioned whether the current development – hyper consumption ruled by globalized capitalism, environmental destruction and people losing freedom and devoting their life to repaying loans – is really what we wanted. “Is it possible to speak of solidarity and of being all together in an economy based on … Continue reading

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【News】 Anti-TPP groups demonstrate around Diet Building urging “TPP ratification does not have any justice” (March 31, 2016)

More than 700 demonstrators of farmers, consumers, representatives of citizen’s groups, and lawyers came from various parts of Japan to gather around the Diet Building at Nagata-cho, Tokyo on March 30 and held a rally and a demonstration for preventing the ratification of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade pact, before lawmakers begin extensive deliberations at the Diet on approvals of the TPP accord and related bills. Members of 66 groups including nonprofit organizations, trade unions, farmers, and medical institutions joined the rally. The participants in the rally, flying flags and holding message boards, protested against the TPP and formed a line of more than 100 meters in front of … Continue reading

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【News】Mysterious tradition of Matagi Japanese traditional winter hunters inherited for generations (March 20, 2016)

Matagi is a traditional hunter mainly in northeastern Japan, who hunts bears, rabbits, ducks and other mountain animals strictly following traditional rules and styles passed on for generations. Today, no Matagi is a full-time hunter any more, but the Matagi tradition is alive even today owing to a small number of old Matagi hunters who engage in agriculture or forestry when the mountains are closed to hunters. The Matagi are aging and there is a concern over the lack of successors. But the heritage itself has now gain new support from folks from the outside world. They are fascinated by the culture of Matagi and have come forward to start … Continue reading

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