GM canola plants found on roadsides across Japan: NGOs

TOKYO, Sept. 24 — Yellow canola plants growing along highways across Japan have been identified as genetically modified, Japanese cooperatives and civil society groups have said. The civil society groups presented the findings at a meeting in Tokyo on Sept. 22. They carried out roadside tests in 37 prefectures in Japan this year and found GM canola in the wild in 11 prefectures, from east to west and south. What’s more, they discovered multiple transgenic traits of canola. They said foreign-made GM canola is seed that has fallen off trucks during transport to refinery factories. They have pressed companies in vain to transport GM canola sealed in road tank cars. … Continue reading

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Japan Flower Growers Association met to discuss strategies for 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games

TOKYO, Sep. 28 — Japan Flower Growers Association (JFGA) met on September 27, 2017, to exchange ideas and opinions for promoting the use of Japanese flowers at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics Games among its nine member industrial groups. The association has set up three projects under the following three themes: 1) bouquets for Olympic medalists, 2) bouquets for Paralympics medalists and 3) decorations for the entire event. From now on, it’s going to summarize the ideas and the promotional plans based on the three topics. One of the attendees at the meeting said, “We appreciate having an early prospect to make sure that we provide enough quantity of … Continue reading

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Japanese government approves breeding of genetically modified silkworms at a farm in Gunma Prefecture

TOKYO, Sept.26 — A farm in Gunma Prefecture will breed silkworms which are genetically engineered using jellyfish genes starting on Oct. 5 to create green fluorescent silk threads, the Gunma Prefectural Government announced on Sept. 25. It is the first case worldwide in which transgenic silkworms will be raised in an ordinary silkworm farm instead of in closed systems such as laboratories. Experimental breeding is also under way to create silkworms that can spin orange or blue glowing silk, in a bid to create a new industry in the prefecture. The agriculture minister and the environment minister approved the application for the breeding of genetically modified silkworms in an open system … Continue reading

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TPP11 talks end with inching closer for a new deal without US

TOKYO, Sept.23 — The 11 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) have made some progress by narrowing down the list of provisions that will be put on ice until the United States returns to the TPP. Senior trade officials met in Tokyo to discuss what provisions of the deal to be shelved at a two-day meeting that ended Sept. 22. In the meeting, they agreed to cut back the number of shelved provisions in rule-making areas to about 50, down from some 70, informed sources said. At the previous meeting in Sydney in August, they agreed to shelve a provision for drug monopoly protection period in the chapter for intellectual … Continue reading

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Japan’s food event in Sydney offers taste of regional specialty

TOKYO, Sept. 24 — The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), a governmental export agency, has organized a promotional event for Japanese foods in Sydney, aiming at matchmaking Japanese producers with Australian buyers. Baked sweet potatoes, various sake and other products of 20 Japanese food companies were showcased for tasting, according to the JETRO, a subsidiary of Japan’s trade ministry. The event drew about 80 commercial buyers, distributors and restaurants in Australia’s capital. The objective is to make Japanese food producers and farmers — located mostly in rural areas — have access to marketing and distribution channels of foreign buyers. But the event caters not just to Japanese producers, but also … Continue reading

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