【News】 Farmers of tsunami-hit Rikuzentakata harvest rice for the first time since the 2011 disaster (Oct. 10, 2013)

Kotaro Yamada Farmers in Imaizumi district of Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, are harvesting rice for the first time since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami which devastated the region. In Imaizumi, 90 percent of households were swept away and 240 people died because of the tsunami. Agricultural producers’ cooperative corporation in Imaizumi, comprised of seven local farmers, worked to restore farmlands by removing disaster debris, and planted Hitomebore brand rice on a 3-heactare land in May. The rice field does not drain well since the underground drains remain unrepaired, so the farmers are cutting rice crops by hand using sickles instead of by combine harvesters. Tsuyoshi Kanno, 73-year-old head of the … Continue reading

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【News】 Three anti-TPP groups make protest to Abe for looking into reviewing the “untouchable” tariffs (Oct. 10, 2013)

  Three groups each representing lawyers, university professors and housewives who are against the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks submitted a letter of protest to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Liberal Democratic Party member Koya Nishikawa on Wednesday, October 8, for considering modifying the list of five untouchable import tariffs to be discussed in the TPP negotiations. The groups urged Nishikawa, head of the LDP’s committee on the TPP talks, to retract the remarks he made on Sunday, October 6, stating that the remarks “are totally unacceptable” because they go against the party’s campaign pledge and the resolution made by the agricultural committees of the upper and lower houses of the … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 The government must keep its word of protecting five key agricultural products in TPP negotiations (Oct. 9, 2013)

  The prospects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks are becoming more and more uncertain. The leaders of the TPP member countries issued a statement on Tuesday, October 8, reiterating their pledge to conclude a deal within the year. But they failed to present a basic agreement, revealing remaining deep-rooted conflicts. Meanwhile, the Japanese government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party began discussing revising the items whose tariffs must be retained. Protecting five key agricultural products, as stated in the resolutions adopted by the LDP and agricultural committees of the upper and lower houses of the Diet, is a promise made to the Japanese people, and breaking the promise is … Continue reading

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【News】 Japanese agricultural cooperative union calls on Asian counterparts to strengthen cooperation (Oct. 8, 2013)

  The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-Zenchu) and leaders of agricultural cooperatives in four Asian countries and regions agreed on Monday, October 7, in Tokyo to deepen mutual ties through broadening exchange programs. JA-Zenchu President Akira Banzai exchanged opinions with leaders of agricultural cooperatives in four countries and regions – South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia and India – who are visiting Japan to attend the 23rd summit meeting of the East Asian Agricultural Organization Council (EAOC), scheduled in Niigata on Tuesday, October 8. Representatives of eight national agricultural cooperative organizations, including the National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-noh), joined the meeting for the first time to introduce their … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan cannot abolish tariffs on dairy products, LDP member tells New Zealand dairy industry (Oct. 8, 2013)

  Hirobumi Senbongi – Bali, Indonesia Koya Nishikawa, chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party’s committee on the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, told the leader of the New Zealand dairy industry on Monday, October 7, that Japan will not accept elimination of tariffs on dairy products. In a meeting with Malcolm Bailey, chairman of the Dairy Companies Association of New Zealand, Nishikawa handed him the text of the resolutions adopted by the upper and lower houses of the Diet, which state that tariff cuts on key agricultural products cannot be accepted, including phase-outs over a period of more than ten years. “There are things which should be carefully taken care of in … Continue reading

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