Foreigners buy 148 hectares of forestry across Japan in 2017

TOKYO, May 5 — With growing concerns over real intention for purchase of forest land in Japan, data from the forestry agency has showed that foreign ownership of forestry remains high. There were 44 cases of foreign funds acquiring a total of 148 hectares of forestry across Japan in 2017. That was lower than a year earlier by 54 hectares, but relatively high since the government’s survey started in 2010. The accumulated acquisition of forestry by foreigners totaled 1,589 hectares in 2017. The biggest buyer was a U.S. corporation, which acquired 66 hectares of forestry in Iwaki city, Fukushima prefecture, to built solar power plants. That accounts for some 60 … Continue reading

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Japan’s ruling LDP seeks to not bend to US pressure on trade

TOKYO, April 25 — Japan’s governing party has reaffirmed it will not accept U.S. demands that go beyond the concessions Tokyo made as part of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) held a meeting on April 24, following the recent outcome of a Japan-the U.S. summit on trade at the U.S. president’s Mar-a-Lago resort club in Florida. “We will work closely with the government to make sure not to have our farmers and fishermen worried,” said Hiroshi Moriyama, who chaired the meeting with an internal task force that deals with trade pacts such as the TPP. The move comes after Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the … Continue reading

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Japan installs vending machine focusing on local fruit produce

TOKYO, April 21 — Japan’s agriculture ministry has installed drink vending machines that sell locally-grown fruit beverage at its headquarters. In Japan, beverages are often in cans in convenience stores, kiosks at trains stations and vending machines. The ministry said the vending machines will offer new product lines each season, such as soy tea and Oita prefecture’s pear juice. It now plans to install such vending machines at train stations as well as airports to promote local fruit produce nationwide.

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Japan-US trade talks will not lead to a new FTA: farm minister

TOKYO, April 21 — A recent announcement that Japan and the U.S. are to start talks on trade deals would not lead to “a new free trade agreement (FTA)”, Japanese Agriculture Minister Ken Saito has stressed. “The announcement is neither considered as a new FTA negotiation, nor as preliminary talks to launch a bilateral trade negotiation,” Saito said at an April 20 press conference. His comments came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the U.S. President Donald Trump had announced in Florida after two days of meetings that ended April 18 that they will start talks on “free, fair and reciprocal trade deals.” However, the announcement has left many … Continue reading

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This year’s first pick of first flush green tea in Shiga Prefecture is picked by Koga ninja!

SHIGA, Apr 24 – On April 23, 2018, Shiga Prefecture celebrated its first harvest of the first flush spring green tea at GreenTea Tsuchiyama, a tea grower in Koga, the region known for traditionally producing high-quality tea leaves. To draw more attention to the tea leaves from Oumi region (a part of present Shiga Prefecture), the tea leaves were handpicked by the locals dressed in ninja costume. The temperature this year was low until the end of February, but the weather improved from the end of March. So, the tea shrubs grew well and is ready to offer high-quality products. Koga is also known as a home of ninja, traditional … Continue reading

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