Tag Archives: News

【News】 Agricultural cooperative group to establish restaurant joint venture to promote sales of domestic pork and chicken (May 13, 2014)

  The National Federation of Agricultural Co-operative Associations (JA Zen-Noh) announced Monday, May 12, that it will establish a company with Saitama-based yakitori restaurant firm Hibiki Food Service Group to open 50 restaurants by 2019 to offer domestically-produced pork and chicken dishes. The new company, J-ACE Hibiki, will be the first business entity in the JA group to receive investment from a JA fund to promote farmers’ sales of processed farm products. It hopes to support the nation’s meat production industry by strengthening sales of domestically-produced pork and chicken. Both JA Zen-Noh and Hibiki say they can benefit from the joint venture, as JA Zen-Noh has a nationwide system which … Continue reading

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【News】 Kiwifruit bacterial canker Psa3 confirmed in Fukuoka (May 13, 2014)

  The Fukuoka Prefectural Government has announced that it confirmed the outbreak of kiwifruit bacterial canker disease Psa3 in the southern part of the prefecture. Fukuoka became the second prefecture in the nation to announce the outbreak of the disease, following reports of the disease in Ehime Prefecture earlier in the month. Psa3, the most virulent strain of Pseudomonas syringae pv. Actinidiae, could destroy infected trees of some varieties, but there is no cure for the disease. According to the prefectural government, growers cut down the infected trees and trees which grew in a 50-are area around them by Friday, May 9, in accordance with the manual they made in … Continue reading

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【News】 Rice farming – the pulse of art and culture (May 11, 2014)

  Hiroki Arai A group of designers, food directors and photographers is showing works depicting rice in “KOME: The Art of Rice” exhibition being held in Akasaka, Tokyo. The aim, in the organizers’ words, is “to take a new look and rethink rice as an important subject of Japanese society as a whole.” On display are 36 design pieces depicting rice and rice farming, created by a number of Japanese artists from various backgrounds trying to express the staple grain from different viewpoints.   The works include humorous objects modeling the shape of rice grains and unique exhibition of tools and materials related to rice harvesting. Visitors can also see … Continue reading

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【News】 Ehime Prefecture tackles kiwifruit bacterial canker by cutting down trees (May 10, 2014)

  The first case of kiwifruit bacterial canker disease Psa3 in Japan has been confirmed in Ehime Prefecture, the nation’s largest kiwifruit production area, and the prefectural government announced on Friday, May 9, that it will cut all the trees in the orchards where the outbreak occurred. Ehime Gov. Tokihiro Nakamura said the prefectural government was expected to finish cutting down all the trees in the infected orchards totaling 2.2-hectares by Saturday, May 10, adding that it will offer emergency financial assistance to kiwifruit growers’ disease prevention measures to reduce their burden. “The impact of the disease is extremely large, although the outbreak was limited to a small area compared … Continue reading

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【News】 Foreign firms’ entry into Japan’s solar power business prompts local residents’ concerns over development (April 29, 2014)

  Hiroko Obara Enterprises based in foreign countries such as China are recently expanding purchases of land and forests in Japan to start solar power generation projects. Since there are no obligations for them to consult local governments in advance to set up solar panels, some projects have led to disputes with nearby residents because they have been implemented without local approval. Some worry that the panels could turn into industrial wastes after the feed-in tariff scheme for renewable energy ends, while others are concerned over their possible adverse impact on the ecosystems. In the northern part of Nishigo village in Fukushima Prefecture lies a 130-hectare land which has been … Continue reading

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