【Interview】 Tackling soil degradation (Jan. 7, 2015)

  How should we prevent soil degradation, which threats stable food supply? Following are interviews on two experts from China and the United States who have been raising the alarm on conservation of soil in their countries and the world. Northeast Forestry University Professor Liu Shenkui The demand for food in China is growing even further along with the increasing population. As for grains, demand for feed as well as for industrial use such as ethanol fuel has risen conspicuously, more than that for staple food. As the economy expanded, demand for livestock increased, leading to a sharp rise in production of grains for feed. Production of grains for feed … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Future strategy of agriculture – reforming agricultural policies step by step (Jan. 7, 2015)

  Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration has entered its second year of agricultural policy reform. Its focus will be reviewing policies on rice farming and reforming agricultural co-operatives. Farming is a business which takes a long time to collect revenues after making investments, and the government’s misruling could lead to business failures. It is necessary to go back to the regular course of agricultural policy reform, which is to verify policy measures and the actual situation of farmers and move step by step by obtaining their consensus. In making its policies, the Abe administration has continuously been rushing to conclusion, based on proposals from policy advisory panels made up mainly … Continue reading

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【News】 Let them glow and paint whole town in orange (Dec. 28, 2014)

  Tetsuya Onda – Mandarin Orange Peel Ornaments (Ehime Prefecture) – Displaying fir trees decorated with orange round ornaments made of mandarin peels. This is becoming a new winter attraction in Ehime Prefecture, a famous producer of mandarin oranges. It was started nine years ago by a private non-profitable organization set up by a group of young guys living in the prefecture. The NGO, Matsuyama Matsuri Ikemen-ren (Team Hot Guys for Matsuyama Festival), which helps organizing the Matsuyama Festival, thought that this will help expanding sales of Matsuyama mandarin oranges. The movement has grown gradually to involve local mandarin farmers and children. The recipe for creating the gorgeous round ornaments is … Continue reading

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【News】 “Focus on Agricultural Co-ops Reform,” Prime Minister told the reappointed Agriculture Minister (Dec.27, 2014)

  Agriculture Minister Koya Nishikawa said Friday, December 26, at the press conference after the Cabinet meeting, that when reappointed as Agriculture Minister, he was instructed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to proceed mainly with the agricultural co-ops reform. His statement made it clear again that Prime Minister Abe has a strong will to promote the agricultural co-operatives reform. Based on Prime Minister’s intention, Agriculture Minister Nishikawa stressed his idea to seek a solution in accordance with the opinion offered by the government and the ruling parties in June. Agriculture Minister Nishikawa was reappointed in the Third Abe Cabinet inaugurated Wednesday, December 24. In the first press conference after the … Continue reading

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【News】 Retailers expand duty free services to woo foreign tourists (Dec. 22, 2014)

Yuji Hosoda Department stores and major retailers are strengthening duty-free counter services, as certain items originally subject to 8 percent consumption tax, such as food and beverages, became tax-free for foreign visitors in October on condition that they are purchased at designated retailers and are not consumed while in Japan. As the number of foreign tourists and the amount of money they spend on shopping are increasing every year, retailers and farmers in regional areas are also gearing up efforts to sell their local specialties to foreign visitors. At Matsuya Ginza, a major department store in Tokyo’s Chuo Ward which is popular among foreign shoppers, sales of duty-free items in … Continue reading

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