Japan’s strawberry growers prepare Chinese New Year treats

NARA, Feb. 16 — For the Chinese New Year, a group of Japanese fruit growers took some steps to expand exports of their local produce: Giant and sweet strawberries. The fruit growers in Nara prefecture sell one strawberry at between 600 and 800 yen, displayed in a luxury gift box. They plan to sell 15,000 pieces, and project sales of 10 million yen this season. Fruit is generally expensive in Japan, and people often buy melons, grapes and strawberries as a gift for special occasions such as weddings, birthdays and parties. Now the growers aim to export such treats to Asian neighbors. According to the growers, one Japanese-grown strawberry can … Continue reading

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Japanese cooperatives to launch new organization in April to tackle problems in rural communities

TOKYO, Feb. 28 – Japan’s cooperatives, including agricultural, fisheries and consumers coops, have announced that they will launch on April 1 a new organization Japan Co-operative Alliance (JCA) to step up cooperation in tackling issues related to rural communities. JCA will be created based on the existing Japan Joint Committee of Co-operatives (JJC) consisting of 17 cooperatives associations such as the Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives (JA-ZENCHU) and Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union. It will work to raise awareness of cooperatives’ roles and values by supporting collaboration by cooperative associations nationwide and making policy proposals. “By encouraging different cooperatives to reinforce coordination, we hope to contribute to creating better lives and … Continue reading

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Government mulls accepting skilled foreign workers in agriculture

TOKYO, Feb. 21 – The government has begun considering accepting more foreign workers in industries with increasingly serious labor shortage including the agricultural sector. In order to secure workers, it plans to ease conditions for allowing foreign people with advanced skills to stay in the country to work. However, there are also concerns that the move could open up farm work to foreign workers in general, giving impact to employment of Japanese people. Addressing the Economic and Fiscal Policy Council meeting on Feb. 20, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said there is an urgent need to review the system of accepting foreign people with professional and technical skills. Specific measures regarding … Continue reading

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Demand of imported rice for food service is strong in Japan

TOKYO, Feb. 21 — Japan’s purchases of imported rice have reached the limit of 100,000 metric tons through the simultaneous buy and sell (SBS) tendering system in fiscal 2017. The purchases highlight the shortage of cheap Japanese-grown rice for the food service industry. The fifth round of the SBS tenders in the fiscal year ending March 31 was held on Feb 20. A total of 14,898 metric tons of imported rice from all origins was successfully bid during the auction, fulfilling the target of 100,000 metric tons, the agriculture ministry said. Of those tons, the U.S. was the largest supplier with a market share of 58 percent, followed by Australia … Continue reading

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Japanese MPs oppose US renegotiating TPP; govt keeps silent

TOKYO, Feb. 22 — A group of Japanese MPs have reaffirmed their opposition to  the government renegotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with the United States. The MPs from the governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) who formed a group to protect the nation’s interests in the TPP held a meeting on Feb. 21. “TPP was a result of long and complex negotiations,” said Taku Eto, who chaired the meeting. “After simply dumping it, how could they (the U.S.) come back to unravel the whole process?” The move came as U.S. President Donald Trump said in January that he might consider rejoining the trade pact, if he could get a “better deal” … Continue reading

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