Tag Archives: News

【News】 Anti-TPP lawyers rise up to address concerns over investor-state dispute resolution (July 4, 2013)

Posted on 2013-07-04 by The Japan Agricultural News

  A group of lawyers working in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya said they will set up an organization this month to analyze and address the dangers of investor-state dispute resolution (ISDR) mechanism which is currently negotiated in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks. The group plans to invite lawyers nationwide and hopes that several hundreds of them will recognize the threat of TPP to the national sovereignty and join the network to take action against it. Hajime Kawaguchi, a lawyer in Nagoya and vice chairman of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ committee on the constitution, is working with Yukio Sugishima, a lawyer in Osaka, and Koji Iwatsuki, a lawyer in … Continue reading →

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【News】 Political parties come up with campaign pledges for the upcoming election, focusing on increasing farmers’ income as key agricultural policies; four parties are opposed to Japan’s entry in to TPP (July 3, 2013)

Posted on 2013-07-03 by The Japan Agricultural News

  The Liberal Democratic Party placed top priority on its 10-year plan to double farmers’ income, while the Democratic Party of Japan pledged to legislate the individual-household income compensation system, according to a survey conducted by the Japan Agricultural News on nine major political parties prior to the Upper House elections scheduled on Sunday, July 21. The survey asked the parties to list three top priority agricultural policies, and four out of nine major political parties – the People’s Life Party, the Japanese Communist Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Green Wind party – expressed strong opposition to Japan’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, while the other … Continue reading →

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【News】 JA Sendai sets on revitalizing use of farmlands in the coastal region hit by 2011 tsunami (July 2, 2013)

Posted on 2013-07-02 by The Japan Agricultural News

  SENDAI, Miyagi Prefecture – An agricultural cooperative in Sendai (JA Sendai) will implement a plan to facilitate the use of farmlands damaged by the March 2011 tsunami by consolidating them and acting as a go-between for farmland owners to lend them to different types of farmers, JA Sendai officials said. JA Sendai hopes to coordinate farmland use so that the land can be used efficiently by large-scale farmers, part-time farmers, small family farmers and self-sufficient farmers, as well as being managed as corporate farms, community farms and allotment gardens, they said. In the coastal region of Sendai city, 1,800 hectares of farmland – 1,600 hectares of which are rice … Continue reading →

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【News】 Beef importers attempt to avoid triggering the government’s safeguard measures amid surging imports (June 28, 2013)

Posted on 2013-06-28 by The Japan Agricultural News

  Daisuke Matsumoto Beef imports in Japan are showing stable increase after the Japanese government eased import restrictions on American beef in February, but beef importers are controlling shipments in June in order to avoid the government from taking safeguard measures in August. Many predict, however, that the imports are likely to increase again in July, leading to intensifying competition between imported beef and domestic beef in the Japanese market. The Finance Ministry reported on Thursday, June 27, that beef imports in May increased 32% from a year before to 55,557 tons, with frozen beef imports rising 42% to 32,951 tons and chilled beef imports up 19% to 22,607 tons. … Continue reading →

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【News】 Debate over LDP pledge to double farmers’ income intensifies ahead of the July election (June 27, 2013)

Posted on 2013-06-27 by The Japan Agricultural News

  As the Diet’s regular session closed on Wednesday, June 26, political parties are all ready to campaign for the Upper House election in July. In addition to the ongoing argument over Japan’s entry in to the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, the key agricultural issue at hand is the Liberal Democratic Party’s pledge to double farmers’ income over the next 10 years, as opposition parties are questioning the viability of the plan. The LDP handed out leaflets explaining the plan in detail, while the Democratic Party of Japan published a special edition of its bulletin featuring criticisms on the LDP plan. Opposition parties volleyed a string of questions on the … Continue reading →

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