Tag Archives: Editorial

【Editorial】 Let us cooperate globally to call for disclosure of TPP draft text (Feb. 18, 2014)

  Negotiations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks will be at a crucial stage this week and next week. The negotiations were carried out in strict confidentiality throughout the talks, giving no room for the public to reflect their voices. It is a matter of course for the parliaments and the public of the TPP member countries to call for disclosure of the draft of the TPP agreement. We have also been repeatedly urging the Japanese government to disclose information on the negotiations. Disclosure of the draft agreement is inevitable to check whether the resolutions made by the Diet’s committees are met and to provide a basis for public debate … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Communities should work together on livestock epidemic prevention (Feb. 8, 2014)

  Livestock animals are exposed to a number of infectious diseases. Highly pathogenic avian influenza is rampant in South Korea, while foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks are reported in Asian countries. In Japan, porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) is spreading in a number of prefectures. Their impact is large because the livestock industry extends to markets, retailers, restaurants and meat processing firms. Moreover, movement of people increases in spring, and so is the risk of infection. Communities should not leave the task of disease prevention only to farmers and do everything possible to keep the virus out of the barns. A dangerous new strain of H5N8 avian flu which emerged in South Korea … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Vegetable farmers must strengthen cooperation with dealers to tackle increasing imports (Feb. 5, 2014)

  Imports of fresh vegetables have recently been on the increase. According to the Finance Ministry’s trade statistics, imports of vegetables amounted to 93,000 tons last December, up 30 percent from a year before, marking a year-on-year rise for four consecutive months. This was due to rising prices of domestically grown vegetables brought about by poor crops. If the situation remains as it is, imported vegetables could become established in the Japanese market. Domestic growers should step up cooperation with food dealers and restaurants to maintain their position in the market. Vegetable imports had been marking a year-on-year drop in the period between September 2012 and August 2013. Imports remained … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Step up participation of women in agricultural cooperative activities for future generations (Jan. 20, 2014)

  Increasing number of women is engaged in the management of agricultural cooperatives, with the number of female directors in JAs topping 1,000 for the first time in 2013. The next step is to improve the quality of female participation, focusing on everyday activities by women’s sections. The question is how to create a more attractive organization amid the aging of members and hand it down to younger generations. Participants – both experienced people and the young – of JA’s national meeting of women which starts on Monday, January 20 should share their opinions and goals, and work together to explore a new age of JA. According to the Central … Continue reading

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【Editorial】 Work together with young farmers, support their pioneering spirit (Jan. 10, 2014)

  Clear signs of reform are expanding in rural villages, with more young people settling in, starting to engage in farming and participating in efforts to revitalize the area. Collaboration with them will work as the driving force to clear the path for the future of the nation’s agriculture and farming villages. Movements for a better society should rise from local areas. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s administration is implementing a growth strategy based on a radical monetary easing policy, economy-boosting measures focusing on public works projects, drastic deregulation and facilitating investments. However, such a strategy of stimulating growth has become a thing of the past, as Japan’s income redistribution function … Continue reading

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