Tag Archives: News

【News】 Farmers rally against expansion of rice imports (Sept. 30, 2015)

Some 250 farmers from across the nation gathered in Tokyo on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to rally against the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, calling on the government to keep the Diet resolutions which pledge to protect key farm items. Headed by two tractors, the farmers paraded about 2 km from Hibiya Park to the Diet, carrying banners and mikoshi portable shrine made of straw sacks filled with rice. They called out: “Protect rice!” “Withdraw from TPP!” The demonstration was hosted by four farmers’ organizations including Japan Family Farmers Movement. After the rally, they met with a farm ministry official and urged the government not to expand rice imports, as reported to … Continue reading

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【News】 Students polishing oaring skills in middle of beautiful rice fields (Sept. 27, 2015)

Kotaro Yamada Here in the agricultural water channel in the Kurume-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture, you’ll see young paddlers on canoes practicing almost every day. They are students of Fukuoka Prefectural Mizuma High School and members of the Canoe Club of the school. The channel of 20 meters wide and 1 kilometer long is calm and very quiet. It’s almost waveless and windless thanks to the bank. “The channel provides perfect conditions for practicing canoe and our students have an advantage in being able to practice almost every day even in the rough weather,” Kazuhiko Tomimatsu, a 43-year-old teacher of the high school and an advisor to the club, explained. Through repeated … Continue reading

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【News】 Japan agricultural co-ops group delegation to make last-minute call on TPP talks (Sept. 26, 2015)

  The Japan agricultural co-operatives (JA) group plans to send a delegation to Atlanta, where member nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade initiative are scheduled to hold a ministerial meeting starting Wednesday, Sept. 30. The delegation, to be headed by Choe Okuno, president of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu), will call on the Japanese government to protect key farm items in line with the Diet resolutions. The group made the decision at a committee meeting on Friday, Sept. 25, along with its policy to also lobby lawmakers domestically in each prefecture. JA-Zenchu officials pointed out that the prospects of the TPP negotiations remain unclear, as there have been … Continue reading

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【News】 Farmer of Joso struggles to recover from floods (Sept. 17, 2015)

Daishi Harajiri A farmer of Joso, Ibaraki Prefecture, severely hit by the heavy rain and floods which occurred a week ago, is at a loss of how to recover his business. His rice paddies, farming equipment and harvested rice had all been submerged in muddy water, making it impossible to deliver the produce to customers. Isamu Wada, 64, grows rice on a 60-hectare land in the city’s Ono district, out of which 55 is rented. 35 hectares were yet to be harvested when the banks of the Kinugawa River collapsed on Thursday, Sept. 10. Muddy streams flew into the district located east of the river, damaging all the rice paddies. … Continue reading

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【News】 Rice gaining popularity as return gifts for baby birth celebration (Sept. 16, 2015)

Joe Ichiki and Shigeko Suzuki Increasing number of new parents are sending rice as return gifts to those who celebrated their baby’s birth. Rice dealers are adopting new ideas, such as offering a rice package weighing the same as a newborn baby with the baby’s photo and name printed. The dealers are selling the products mainly online to seek new demand amid decline in rice consumption. Suzunobu, a rice dealer of Tokyo’s Meguro Ward, sells a package of rice whose weight can be adjusted by grams to match the weight of a newborn baby. The shop used to receive an order for the product only once every three months, but … Continue reading

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