Tag Archives: Series

【Series】 Agricultural policies – Interviews with political parties: Part 2 Noritoshi Ishida, head of New Komeito’s agriculture and fisheries division (Jan. 29, 2014)

Q. How will the ruling bloc proceed with the new agricultural reform? A. We need a new legislation in order to stabilize the system, but farmers’ recognition of the new policies is not yet sufficient. We should first have thorough discussion at the Diet and spread the idea among those concerned. Although we do not plan to change the overall direction of reform, there are things that we do not realize until we actually put it into practice. If there is any problem, we can revise the law even after it takes effect. It is important to reflect the voices of farmers in policymaking. Q. Some farmers are worried about … Continue reading

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【Series】 Agricultural policies – Interviews with political parties: Part 1 Ken Saito, director of the Liberal Democratic Party’s agriculture and forestry division (Jan. 28, 2014)

  2014 will be the year when a series of agricultural reform, including the establishment of a Japanese-style direct payment system and the revision of individual-household income compensation, will be implemented by the government t and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. The government is also faced with various other issues, such as negotiations under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks intensifying before spring, and debates starting on the creation of a new basic plan for food, agriculture and rural areas. Along with the opening of the ordinary session of the Diet, The Japan Agricultural News interviewed seven political parties’ lawmakers in charge of agricultural issues, who are preparing to start policy … Continue reading

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【Series】 The Common Agricultural Policy after 2013 in EU: Part 3 (Nov. 13, 2013)

  EU’s new Common Agricultural Policy to focus on fairness Senior Staff Writer, Masaru Yamada The European Union’s new Common Agricultural Policy will be on the move in the beginning of next year. The new CAP will provide more protection for eco-friendly farms and young farmers, while cutting payments to large-scale farms owned by major companies, royal families and aristocrats. Amid the wavering European economy, the main focus of the two-year discussions has been how to gain support of taxpayers. The characteristics of the CAP as an income compensation system has weakened, and the new CAP places importance on maintaining fairness and benefiting farmers who contribute to the society. The … Continue reading

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【Series】 Facing the forests – situations in Europe : Part 7 – Bavaria, Germany (Oct. 24, 2013)

  Yuu Kawasaki 27 years after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, radioactive cesium exceeding the limits set by the European Union is still detected from wild boars captured in the state of Bavaria, Germany, some 1,500 km west-southwest of the nuclear plant. The EU sets a maximum limit for cesium in game meat of 600 becquerels per kilogram. Germany legally approves game meat trading by individuals, but after the nuclear disaster, it banned under the Atomic Energy Act sales of game meat which exceeds the limit for cesium. It obligated hunters to incinerate such game meat with compensation from the federal and local governments. There are 112 public or … Continue reading

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【Series】 Facing the forests – situations in Europe : Part 6 Scotland (October 23, 2013)

  Keita Takeuchi In early October, when the hunting season begins in Scotland, “trained hunters” who are qualified as game meat inspectors bring in deer day after day to a meat processing plant of Highland Game Ltd., a game meat dealer in Dundee. Each deer has a tag put on its belly to identify when and where it was captured, and the hunter identification number. Highland Game owner and managing director Christian Nissen stresses that the safety of the firm’s game meat is ensured by the trained hunters. Trained hunters are those who have learned such skills as wildlife disease prevention and hygiene control of meat processing and passed the … Continue reading

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