Japanese farmer keeps alive tradition of treating hoe mindfully

TOYAMA, Jan. 12 ― Hikohiro Motoyoshi, an 83-year-old farmer, and his wife Hiroko keep alive tradition of serving sake and the New Year’s food to their hoes respectfully. Their hoes — one is flat hoe and the other is three pronged cultivators — are sitting on zabuton cushions, treated like guests of honor, in the largest room in the home of the Motoyoshi family in Toyama. And the couple let their petitions be made known to the hoes for a good harvest and the safety in the coming year. “They have promised me another good harvest this year,” Hikohiro Motoyoshi smiles, after talking to the hoes, a tool designed to … Continue reading

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Exports of beef and sake top 20 billion yen mark for the first time in 2018, with green tea shipments reaching new all-time high

TOKYO, Feb. 10 – Exports of Japanese beef and sake topped a 20-billion-yen mark in 2018, and Japan’s green tea shipments abroad reached a new all-time high, according to Finance Ministry statistics on exports of farm produce and processed foods. The increase in exports is mainly attributable to strong demand in markets in Asian countries and the United States. Agriculture, forestry and fishery exports in 2018 showed a preliminary figure of 906.8 billion yen, up 12 percent from the previous year to hit a record high for the sixth straight year, buoyed by increased shipments of beef, sake and green tea. Exports of Japanese beef totaled 24.7 billion yen, up … Continue reading

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Chinese shiitake spawn import to Japan to hit a record in 2018

TOKYO, Jan. 13 ― Japan’s imports of shiitake spawn, which are essentially mushroom seeds, will likely hit a record volume in 2018, exceeding the 2017 record, official data have shown. Shiitake are among the most popular of many varieties of mushrooms eaten by the fungi-mad Japanese. Each year, families and restaurants stew, fry and grill hundreds of tons of these brown umbrella-shaped vegetables. Shiitake spawn imports to Japan in the first eleven months through November 2018 totaled 18,650 metric tons, already exceeding the 2017 full-year import record of 15,649 metric tons, according to the finance ministry. If the December figure remains the same level a year earlier, then the imports … Continue reading

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Japan’s first shipment of Niigata-grown rice for China sets sail

YOKOHAMA, Jan. 9 ― The first shipment of rice to China sourced exclusively from Niigata prefecture, one of Japan’s most renowned rice producers, is set to depart from the Port of Yokohama. JA ZEN-NOH, the National Federation of Agriculture Cooperative Associations, the marketing arm of JA group, assembled in Yokohama on Jan. 8 to celebrate the consignment. “Niigata shipments account for a third of the entire Japanese rice exports,” said Agriculture Minister Takamori Yoshikawa at the ceremony. “I hope rice shipments from Niigata to China will increase.” This shipment is significant because China decided last November to lift its seven-year import ban on rice from Niigata prefecture, which was imposed in … Continue reading

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Japan’s outbreak of hog cholera continues with 7th case found

TOKYO, Jan. 30 ― Japan’s outbreak of classical swine fever, also known as hog cholera, has continued to spread with a seventh case identified on Jan. 29, since the country first reported the disease in September last year. The seventh case was discovered in Kakamigahara, Gifu prefecture, central Japan, the agriculture ministry said on Jan. 29. The announcement was made only three days after Gifu prefecture lifted restrictions of movement and shipment on hog farms on Jan. 26. “It is so regrettable,” Agriculture Minister Takamori Yoshikawa said at a Jan. 29 press conference. “I have instructed officials to work out new measures for tighter control of the disease.” Gifu prefectural … Continue reading

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