The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) approved a bill of amendments to the Act on National Strategic Special Zones at a general meeting of its policy research council on February 28. The bill is to allow foreigners, who have completed a technical intern training program on farms, to work for agricultural management entities as dispatched workers only in special economic zones of the country. The overseas workers will be also able to get jobs related to processing of farm products, which is not currently allowed in the technical training programs. A new regulation permitting foreigners to work on farms will be put into the immigration control legislation as an exception. … Continue reading →

Shinzo Abe’s administration approved a bill of amendments to the Law Concerning Standardization, etc. of Agricultural and Forestry Products, or Japanese Agricultural Standard (JAS) Law, at its cabinet meeting held on February 28, by which the government guarantees qualities of food products manufactured on the basis of certain quality standards. The amendments of the Law is to aim at additionally applying the JAS system to cultivation practices peculiar to Japan as well as transportation means for keeping freshness of products. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) submitted the proposed amendment of the Law to the Diet on the same day. “We can hope the revision of the JAS … Continue reading →

Japan is suddenly becoming one of the most favorite countries among Thai people. To catch the new wave, local governments and business entities in Japan are each trying to reach more people quicker and more effectively than others by expanding their public relations’ activities in Thailand. In 2013, the Japanese government decided to make visitors from Thailand exempt from short-term visa requirement. This contributed to the big surge of the number of inbound travelers from the predominantly Buddhist country. Chiba Prefecture has launched an ad campaign to appeal the fun of strawberry picking in Chiba in order to attract a greater number of Thai travelers particularly in their long weekend … Continue reading →

Reports on damages of farm products caused by diseases and insects resistant to agricultural chemicals are increasing in Japan, a survey conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) revealed. According to MAFF’s fiscal 2016 survey on outbreaks of pesticide-resistant diseases and insects, 1,285 cases of pesticide resistance that broke out on farms sprayed with insecticide, bactericide, or herbicide have been reported. MAFF’s similar survey implemented in fiscal 2013 confirmed reports on 633 cases of the outbreaks, although it is not possible to simply compare the results of these two surveys in fiscal 2013 and 2016 which differ in a way of tallying reports on the outbreaks. In … Continue reading →