Tag Archives: News

【News】 Gottsuo Treasure Box Train goes full of seasonal Akita cuisine (Feb. 15, 2015)

  Tetsuya Onda – Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway (Akita Prefecture)  – A very special train trip on Gottsuo Treasure Box Train is now one of the must-do things in Akita Prefecture in winter. It’s a limited service provided by the Akita Nairiku Jukan Railway (Akita Inland Longitudinal Railway) that offers a very unique experience of enjoying seasonal Akita cuisine, cooked by mothers from local towns, on the train. The feast are prepared by members of a local farmers group called Green Tourism Nishiki Association, each one serving a personal specialty to eventually offer a multi-course meal on the train. Gottsuo (pronounced as “Gozzo”) is a local dialect for a word … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Photos | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Gottsuo Treasure Box Train goes full of seasonal Akita cuisine (Feb. 15, 2015)

【News】 Agricultural co-op group OKs major reform plan (Feb. 10, 2015)

  The government and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party reached basic agreement with the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu), the nation’s main agricultural lobby, on Monday, Feb. 9, on the first major reform of the organization in more than 60 years, including taking away its legal authority to audit its member co-ops. The government’s proposed plan means a big turning point for JA-Zenchu, as its audit division, which has been conducting audits on primary JAs, will be separated from the organization. It will also give up its legally privileged status to become a general incorporated association by the end of March 2019. The government is expected to submit a … Continue reading

Posted in Cooperatives, Food & Agriculture | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Agricultural co-op group OKs major reform plan (Feb. 10, 2015)

【News】 Glowing silk yarns showcased at Hikari Exhibition (Feb. 7, 2015)

Kotaro Yamada Hundreds of radiant cocoons and shining silken stoles and lamp shades. You’ll see them all in Ueno, Tokyo, at the National Museum of Nature and Science, in the darkness at its special exhibition “Hikari–The Wonder of Light”. The shining products are presented by the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences (NIAS) based in Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture. The cocoons and silk yarns were produced by silkworms that NIAS genetically engineered. It successfully inserted a certain fluorescence protein gene extracted from a coral and a jelly fish in silkworms to give them the ability to spin silk yarns that can emit light. The glowing cocoons emit red, orange or green light … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Others, Photos | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Glowing silk yarns showcased at Hikari Exhibition (Feb. 7, 2015)

【News】 Government’s guarantee to import U.S. rice: never make the same mistake again (Feb. 7, 2015)

  Senior Staff Writer, Masaru Yamada In the ongoing negotiations for liberalization of farm products under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, the United States is asking Japan to set an annual tax-free import quota for American-grown rice for consumption as staple food. Two decades ago, Japan secretly agreed to guarantee a certain share of U.S. rice in the Japanese market. The decision forced Japan to post substantial losses in the agriculture ministry’s special account, which continue to impose a burden on farmers and the Japanese people. The government should never repeat the same mistake of bowing to U.S. pressure and accepting more import quotas. In fiscal 1995, Japan started importing … Continue reading

Posted in Food & Agriculture, Trade Talks | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Government’s guarantee to import U.S. rice: never make the same mistake again (Feb. 7, 2015)

【News】 Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives asks ruling party to maintain its audit function (Feb. 7, 2015)

  In a last-minute effort to reflect agricultural co-operatives’ opinions in the government’s agricultural reform plan, Akira Banzai, head of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) met ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers with close links to the farm sector on Friday, Feb. 6, to make a number of requests including keeping the union’s auditing system. Banzai asked LDP members to maintain JA-Zenchu’s audits and let primary JAs choose between the central union’s audits and those by certified public accountants. He also requested that JA-Zenchu and prefectural unions have the same kind of corporate capacity under the Agricultural Co-operative Society Law, and expressed opposition to restricting non-farmer members’ use of … Continue reading

Posted in Cooperatives, Food & Agriculture | Tagged | Comments Off on 【News】 Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives asks ruling party to maintain its audit function (Feb. 7, 2015)