Tag Archives: News

【News】 Foreign culinary students permitted to stay longer after graduation (Feb. 15, 2014)

  The government revised regulations for foreign students at culinary schools to allow them stay in Japan for two years after graduation if they take up apprenticeships at Japanese-style restaurants, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries announced Friday, Feb. 15.   Agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said the same day that he hopes the revision will help nurture people who contribute to promoting Japanese food and food culture overseas, leading to an increase in exports of Japanese agricultural products and food items. Foreign students who study at culinary schools in Japan had to leave the country after graduation, but the revision enables them to stay longer if each student’s school … Continue reading

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【News】 Young farmers call for protection of key agricultural products in TPP (Feb. 14, 2014)

  The national youth organization under the Japan Agricultural Cooperative group held a meeting in Tokyo on Thursday, Feb. 13, and agreed on the need to further reflect young farmers’ voices in agricultural policies. They stressed the importance of young farmers coming up with their own solutions to challenges they face and implement them in the JA group’s policies and projects. Some 1,000 participants of the meeting also held a rally in Tokyo the same day, urging the government to follow the resolutions adopted by the Diet’s agricultural committees and protect key agricultural products such as rice, beef and sugar from tariff elimination in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. With … Continue reading

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【News】 Farmers from Fukuoka Prefecture ask agriculture minister to protect key agricultural products (Feb. 12, 2014)

  Political entity of farmers in Fukuoka Prefecture asked agriculture minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Fukuoka on Tuesday, Feb. 11, to protect key agricultural products, including rice, wheat and dairy products, from tariff elimination in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The TPP member countries are scheduled to hold a ministerial meeting starting on Saturday, Feb. 22, and the farmers urged that the government follow the resolutions adopted by the agricultural committees of the upper and lower houses of the Diet. 10 executives of agricultural groups invited Hayashi to their meeting to make requests regarding the TPP negotiations and the government’s new agricultural policies. Masaji Matsuyama, an upper house lawmaker from Fukuoka, … Continue reading

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【News】 Convey your love with “sweetheart plants” (Feb. 6, 2014)

  Kotaro Yamada A houseplant with heart-shaped leaves is grown at Gikohen, a succulent plant grower in Mizuho, Gifu Prefecture, to be used as Valentine’s Day gifts. The plant, a species of Hoya native to southeast Asia, is a succulent vine which withstands difficult conditions and requires infrequent waterings, similar to most cacti. Gikohen President Takayoshi Kato, 68, kept on picking out individual plants with heart-shaped leaves for 10 years and succeeded in commercializing the product. Roughly 6-cm-high fleshy leaves of the Hoya plant, commonly known as “sweetheart plant,” are rooted in soil and are placed in decorated small pots. Some 50,000 pots, named “Love Love Heart,” will be shipped … Continue reading

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【News】 Agriculture ministry warns of deadly pig virus outbreak (Jan. 25, 2014)

  The porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus is spreading in Japan, with infections confirmed in 110 farms in four prefectures such as Kagoshima and Miyazaki, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Since the disease spreads via contact with manure, the ministry’s animal health division said it is necessary to investigate channels of infection and strengthen disease prevention. The ministry warns the spread of the epidemic means there is a possible flaw in infection control measures, which would allow other diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease to spread. The PED infection was found in Japan for the first time in seven years last October in Okinawa Prefecture, and continued … Continue reading

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