Japan’s 2018 food exports will likely hit record 90 billion yen

TOKYO, Jan. 20 ― Japan’s food exports rose for the ninth consecutive month in November 2018, thanks to largely to appetite for wagyu beef and fruits in neighboring Asian countries, official data has showed. Total shipments of agriculture products, processed foods and seafood soared 9% to 85.2 billion yen in November from a year earlier, according to the agriculture ministry. The primary agricultural products, which constitute half of total agricultural exports, increased 12% to 52.2 billion yen. Among those products, wagyu beef jumped 39% to 2.7 billion yen, as Cambodia solidified its position as the largest destination for Japanese wagyu beef, with value doubling to 800 million yen. Wagyu beef … Continue reading

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[Our Noh no Ikebana] “We at midwinter long for the coming of spring,” says Matsuno Tsuzuki, 79, from Agui Town, Aichi Prefecture

“I began Noh no Ikebana more than 35 years ago. First, I joined the class given by a master of Noh no Ikebana, Toshie Yokoi, from an agricultural cooperative in Higashi Chita (JA Aichi Chita) at her visit at our female members’ group event. When she made some adjustments, vegetables in my arrangement suddenly looked so beautiful, fresh and lively. That moved me a lot I remember. Soon, I joined the club of the female members in Agui. Currently, the club has 19 members, but it’ll be nice if we can have some younger members, too. I always look for the materials for my arrangements, while I’m at my farm … Continue reading

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Japan’s cooperatives promote locally grown cabbage in Tokyo

TOKYO, Jan. 13 ― Japanese main growers of fresh cabbage have joined hands to promote their products at Ota Ichiba, the country’s largest flower and vegetable wholesale market, at a time when the import volumes are rising in Japan. The increase in imports of cabbage is attributed to traders’ assumption of poor domestic cabbage crop due to bad weather last year. It had been raining a lot last September in production areas, namely Chiba, Kanagawa and Aichi prefectures. But the domestic cabbage crop recovered as favorable weather conditions continued since then, boosting domestic production. Despite late last year’s good harvest, the rising imports of cabbage has resulted in pushing domestic … Continue reading

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Japanese farmer keeps alive tradition of treating hoe mindfully

TOYAMA, Jan. 12 ― Hikohiro Motoyoshi, an 83-year-old farmer, and his wife Hiroko keep alive tradition of serving sake and the New Year’s food to their hoes respectfully. Their hoes — one is flat hoe and the other is three pronged cultivators — are sitting on zabuton cushions, treated like guests of honor, in the largest room in the home of the Motoyoshi family in Toyama. And the couple let their petitions be made known to the hoes for a good harvest and the safety in the coming year. “They have promised me another good harvest this year,” Hikohiro Motoyoshi smiles, after talking to the hoes, a tool designed to … Continue reading

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Exports of beef and sake top 20 billion yen mark for the first time in 2018, with green tea shipments reaching new all-time high

TOKYO, Feb. 10 – Exports of Japanese beef and sake topped a 20-billion-yen mark in 2018, and Japan’s green tea shipments abroad reached a new all-time high, according to Finance Ministry statistics on exports of farm produce and processed foods. The increase in exports is mainly attributable to strong demand in markets in Asian countries and the United States. Agriculture, forestry and fishery exports in 2018 showed a preliminary figure of 906.8 billion yen, up 12 percent from the previous year to hit a record high for the sixth straight year, buoyed by increased shipments of beef, sake and green tea. Exports of Japanese beef totaled 24.7 billion yen, up … Continue reading

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