JA Nansun, Shizuoka, collaborates with “Love Live!” popular local anime to boost online sales of petit vert

SHIZUOKA, Feb. 26 – A local agricultural cooperative in Shizuoka Prefecture (JA Nansun) sold a set of petit vert and an original postcard in collaboration with a TV anime “Love Live! Sunshine !!” whose story is set in Numazu City. The exclusive version of boxed petit vert was available on an online shopping site, “JA Town,” for four days from February 24. That was the first shot of the initiative to support local farmers having difficulty selling products due to the Covid-19 pandemic and started with the cooperation of Sunrise Inc., a Japanese animation studio. Some other plans are to follow to support the sale of other agricultural products, as … Continue reading

Posted in Cooperatives, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on JA Nansun, Shizuoka, collaborates with “Love Live!” popular local anime to boost online sales of petit vert

NohTube channel welcomes new members and winning popularity by showing real farmers’ lives

TOKYO, Feb. 16 – A YouTube channel of the Youth Group of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA Group) welcomed six new members. The NohTube channel, it’s called, is now run by 12 “NohTubers” and posts four videos per month instead of two in 2020. (Noh means farming in Japanese.) As of February 15, 2021, it has 33 movies, some receiving more than 40,000 views. “The more efforts we make, the more we gain. That’s a good part of being a farmer, a cattle grower, and a domestic animal inseminator,” a 45-year-old NohTuber, Iki Fujiyama, said in one of his videos. Fujiyama is a domestic animal inseminator and cattle grower in … Continue reading

Posted in Cooperatives, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on NohTube channel welcomes new members and winning popularity by showing real farmers’ lives

First Japan-grown strawberries to Australia shipped from Gifu Prefecture

TOKYO, Feb. 26 – The Gifu Prefectural Government and agricultural cooperatives in Gifu began shipping strawberries grown in the prefecture to Australia on Feb. 25, becoming the first in Japan to export strawberries to the country. Australia decided last year to allow Japan to ship fresh strawberries to the nation and the prefecture has completed all the necessary procedures for exporting, including registrations of facilities for production, fruit selection and packaging. A ceremony was held on the day in the city of Gifu to export 20 kilograms of Hanakagari brand and 5 kg of Minomusume brand strawberries. In August last year, Australia lifted a ban on imports of Japan-grown strawberries … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on First Japan-grown strawberries to Australia shipped from Gifu Prefecture

Farm work safety week newly launched to fight rise in fatal accidents

TOKYO, Feb. 17 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries established the farm work safety promotion week for the first time, starting Feb. 16. During the period up to Feb. 26, the ministry will organize events and forums aimed at reducing farming accidents so that the agriculture industry will reconfirm the significance of measures to secure safety at farms. The number of farm workers who died of work-related accidents in 2019 totaled 281, up seven from the previous year, according to the ministry’s statistics released on Feb. 16. The ministry also plans to set up on Feb. 25 a panel to discuss effective policies to secure farm work safety. … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Farm work safety week newly launched to fight rise in fatal accidents

Japan to seek UNESCO listing of sake and shochu as new intangible cultural heritage in or after 2024: Suga’s first major policy speech

TOKYO, Jan. 18 – Japan is planning to propose to UNESCO the addition of sake, Japanese rice wine, and shochu spirits to the List of Intangible Cultural Heritages. Prime Minister of Japan Yoshihide Suga confirmed the idea in his first policy speech on January 18, 2021. The demand for sake and rice suitable for sake brewing is declining due to the new Covid-19 pandemic. However, the export and domestic consumption of these two Japanese traditional beverages can increase if they are added to the list. The government is already preparing for the submission, but the new listing may take place in 2024 at the earliest. United Nations Educational, Scientific and … Continue reading

Posted in Farm Policy, Food & Agriculture | Comments Off on Japan to seek UNESCO listing of sake and shochu as new intangible cultural heritage in or after 2024: Suga’s first major policy speech