Tag Archives: News

【News】 LDP lawmakers opposed to TPP talks call on government to protect key farm items (July 23, 2015)

  As the ministerial meeting of the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks approaches, Liberal Democratic Party members who are opposed to the TPP scheme gathered on Wednesday, July 22, to press the government not to rush to come to terms with other negotiators and to place top priority on protecting the key agricultural products. They asked that the group’s new statement to be submitted to the government include what is adopted by the party and the Diet committees, the stance that Japan is ready to withdraw from the negotiations if key farm items cannot be protected. They criticized the government’s eagerness to conclude the talks amid growing concerns among farmers. “If … Continue reading

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【News】 Assortments of different rice brands gaining popularity (July 21, 2015)

  Hirotaka Terada More and more retailers and rice dealers are selling a variety of rice brands in a package in an effort to familiarize consumers with brands other than the ones they usually eat. Such packages are selling well, especially among people sending summer gifts. In May and June, Izumi Co., which operates a supermarket chain in Chugoku, Shikoku and Kyushu regions, sold an assortment of rice brands given a special A rank by the Japan Grain Inspection Association. Although the product was available only for 22 days, sales of rice at the firm’s online shop in the first half of June was up 80 percent from a year … Continue reading

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【News】 Take, read and eat all five of them! (July 16, 2015)

Kotaro Yamada An operator of the Ishinomori Manga Museum in Ishinomaki-shi, Miyagi Prefecture, started to sell five kinds of pouched curries in the packages that look exactly like comic books. The curry sets named “Ishinomaki Curry Zenshu (Ishinomaki Curry Series)” will go on sale on July 19, 2015. The operator, Machizukuri Manbo, produced them in order to help restore the area that was hit by the East Japan Great Earthquake. The press release and briefing took place in Ginza, Tokyo, on June 15. The recipes are all original and created being supervised by five local restaurants and shops including a grilled eel restaurant and a meat shop. The curries are … Continue reading

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【News】 Cabinet approval rating hits all-time low of 36%, reflecting concerns over agricultural reform (July 14, 2015)

  The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet was 36 percent, the lowest since he returned to power in December 2012, according to an opinion poll conducted by The Japan Agricultural News. The disapproval rating was 61 percent, higher than the approval rate by more than 20 percentage points. A total of 75 percent of respondents either strongly or somewhat disapprove the Abe administration’s agricultural policies. Opponents to the security bills which the government is aiming to pass in the current Diet session exceeded 60 percent. The poll was conducted on 1,150 monitors of the newspaper, mainly farmers, between the end of June and early July. 826 responded … Continue reading

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【News】 Ruby Roman grapes from Ishikawa Prefecture sold for JPY1 million at first Kanazawa auction (July 10, 2015)

A single bunch of Ruby Roman table grapes fetched record-breaking JPY1 million (plus consumption tax) on July 9, 2015, at this year’s first auction in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture. The record-setting bunch of Ruby Roman grapes was rated premium and weighted around 700 grams. Thanks to the opening of the Hokuriku Shinkansen bullet train line, the selling price far surpassed the previous record of JPY550,000 logged last year. Winning bidder Masayuki Hirai, head chef of Hotel Nikko Kanazawa, said that he wanted to buy the best bunch of Ruby Roman to get his guests see there is something very special in Ishikawa Prefecture. He plans to serve the grapes as a … Continue reading

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