Festival showing gratitude for water held in Kagawa in western Japan

KAGAWA, Sept. 23 – Hyoge Matsuri, a festival to give thanks for the blessing of water and pray for a rich harvest, was held in the Asano district of Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, in mid-September. Around 160 local residents, wearing eccentric makeup and dressed as vegetables, paraded for some 2 kilometers in the district. The festival, named after a word “hyogeru” from the local Sanuki dialect which means to clown around, has a history of more than 300 years. It was resumed this year after being canceled two years in a row due to the spread of COVID-19. The event had been organized by a preservation group made up of local … Continue reading

Posted in Photos | Comments Off on Festival showing gratitude for water held in Kagawa in western Japan

Convenience stores’ new luxurious onigiri rice balls ride on stay-at-home economy boom

TOKYO, Sept. 21 – Convenience stores in Japan are introducing high-priced onigiri rice balls featuring carefully-selected brand rice and domestic agricultural and livestock products. Thanks to the rising need for a modest luxury among people enduring the COVID-19 pandemic, household spending is increasing. Agricultural and livestock producers hope that such rice balls that you can easily buy at nearby stores will be an excellent promotion to increase the consumption of their products. According to a family budget survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, annual spending on rice balls per household with two or more people was 4,746 yen in 2021, up 5% from the previous … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Convenience stores’ new luxurious onigiri rice balls ride on stay-at-home economy boom

Long-term research with 100,000 subjects: Higher fruit and vegetable intake can cut death risk by 10%

YOKOHAMA, Sept. 8 – Eating vegetables more often can cut the mortality risk by nearly 10%, according to the report released on September 7, 2022, by a group of researchers from Yokohama City University (YUC), National Cancer Center Hospital, and other institutes. The data was obtained through the study of nearly 20 years on 100,000 male and female examinees in Japan. It’s the first research in Japan to reveal the relationships between the portion of fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of death, while there are some studies already done in Europe and the U.S. The study reconfirmed the importance of eating more fruits and vegetables. The researchers used … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Long-term research with 100,000 subjects: Higher fruit and vegetable intake can cut death risk by 10%

Japan to review basic law on food, agriculture and rural areas amid growing threats to food security

TOKYO, Sept. 10 – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sept. 9 instructed the government’s headquarters for stable food supply and sustainable agriculture to review the basic law on food, agriculture and rural areas, known as the “constitution of agriculture policies,” with a view to revise it. Agriculture minister Tetsuro Nomura said the government will show the direction on what to do with the law in about a year while focusing on creating a consensus among the people. The points at issue are boosting self-sufficiency of farm produce, fertilizers and livestock feed. The law was enacted in 1999. It has served to set farm policies of today including nurturing and securing … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy | Comments Off on Japan to review basic law on food, agriculture and rural areas amid growing threats to food security

Subsidized extensive farming increasing in Japan, creating beautiful landscapes with bee-friendly flowers and pasture

KAGOSHIMA, TOYAMA, Sep. 7 – “Extensive management practices” are spreading in Japan as part of the initiatives to keep farmlands, preventing them from becoming abundant, with a small workload. In Kagoshima Prefecture, farmers and beekeepers turned unused farmlands into nectar sources. In Toyama Prefecture, farmers plan to change idle lands to pastures that require less money and work. The farm ministry of Japan started subsidizing such projects in fiscal 2021. People welcome the moves, saying “the initiatives are also improving the landscape,” though there are concerns about profitability. (Writer: Motoaki Omori) “I’m looking forward to seeing our visitors’ smiling faces,” said Shoji Yamasaki, the 58-year-old chairman of “Yume-Hotaru Tabugawa 2016,” … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Subsidized extensive farming increasing in Japan, creating beautiful landscapes with bee-friendly flowers and pasture