HOKKAIDO, July 9 — Farmage Co., a pasturing equipment seller in the town of Tobetsu, Hokkaido, started selling Grass Money Story, a board game simulating the economics of grazing dairy farming.   The board game was developed based on the company’s knowledge and expertise accumulated through its history of supporting the spread of grazing dairy farming for over 40 years.   People from various age groups can enjoy playing the game and learn the basics of dairy farm management and the benefits of grazing.   The board game, put on sale on July 1, lets players act as dairy farmers, making decisions on pasturing plans, grassland management, cattle management and … Continue reading →

HYOGO, June 29 — Ayuchi, an agriculture startup in Shiso, Hyogo Prefecture, has developed a technology to cultivate rice hydroponically — growing plants in water containing dissolved nutrients — enabling indoor rice farming with a short harvesting period. The firm uses Mizunoyume, a short-stemmed, early-maturing new rice variety it developed. The cultivation period of the rice variety is around two months, meaning it can be harvested as many as six times a year. To save space, the company is presenting a new way of cultivating rice using multilayer shelves in greenhouses. Ayuchi’s hydroponic system, comprising a light emitting diode (LED) system and a blended liquid fertilizer both developed by the … Continue reading →

GIFU, Jul. 8 – The Gifu Prefectural Police began taking measures based on a science called Shikakeology to prevent rice shoplifting at retail stores. At a supermarket in Gifu City, prefectural police officers placed cards featuring cat’s eyes and a “Security Measures against Shoplifters Running” alert near price tags as well as floor signs that read “Security camera is watching here,” indicating that the security camera’s focus is here. These measures are designed to make people conscious of being watched and prevent them from committing a crime. Shikakeology is a science that studies small psychological triggers (shikake in Japanese) to change people’s behaviors. In an experiment in January through March … Continue reading →

AKITA, Jun. 30 – A traditional summer product, junsai, is in the peak harvest season in Mitane-cho, Akita Prefecture. The town is Japan’s largest producer of junsai, a perennial aquatic plant of the Nymphaeaceae family known as water shield in English. The harvest season will continue until August. The slippery vegetable appears in an old poem by Kenji Miyazawa, The Last Farewell. People eat the sprout that grows in water and is covered in a viscous jelly. The transparent jelly shines like ice, refreshingly, and people like it for its unique springy texture and smoothness. It was once a natural product found in swamps in Mitane-cho. However, in the 1970s, … Continue reading →

TOKYO, July 2 — As the print circulation of newspapers has been declining due to a shift towards digital media, Tonichi Printing Co., a major newspaper printing firm in Tokyo’s Koto Ward, has launched a new business of growing wood ear mushrooms.   The business started as an in-house project of The Mainichi Newspapers Shutoken Center Co., Tonichi Printing’s subsidiary located in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture, which operates a newspaper printing plant. It is the firm’s second project of starting a new business after medaka Japanese killfish breeding.   The firm hopes such attempts to monetize new businesses will also lead to revitalizing its employees.   An unused space inside a … Continue reading →