News from Japan

Japan asks summit to lift post-Fukushima export bans At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit this week, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Japan asked the other nations present to lift th... Garden on the bay plots agricultural revival Rich red tomatoes and purple eggplants are ripe for harvest while loaches swim in a lush rice paddy awaiting seedlings. It is difficult to believe ... Crops unsafe after 2011 disaster Last year’s crop sits in storage, deemed unsafe to eat, but Toraaki Ogata is back at his rice paddies, driving his tractor trailing neat rows of... Bluefin tuna record Fukushima radioactivity Pacific Bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California have been found to have radioactive contamination from last year’s Fukushima nuclear acc... Japan farmers pray for radiation-free rice Last year’s crop sits in storage, deemed unsafe to eat, but Toraaki Ogata is back at his rice paddies, driving his tractor trailing neat rows of... Japan giant buys stake in Lincoln firm A Japanese firm has taken a majority stake in a Lincoln firm. Shareholders of Spaldings Holdings Limited, which distributes agricultural machinery ... Japan to promote food exports with HK Japan’s farm ministry signed a memorandum with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council on Monday to cooperate in promoting Japanese food and agr... US, Japan co-ops in grain trade venture The biggest farm cooperatives in the United States and Japan are joining forces to improve delivery of U.S. wheat and barley to the biggest buyer, the... US farmers to boost rice production for Japan U.S. farmers plan to increase the amount of land devoted to growing short-grain rice used in Japanese cuisine this year amid worries here about domest... Buyers of US beef still importing Major export markets for U.S. beef from Canada to Japan stayed open after the United States reported its first case of mad cow disease in six years am... Half disaster-hit farmers unable to return More than half of the farmers affected by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in the Tohoku region remain unable to resume work, the government said... Japan seeks 106,200t wheat Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture is looking to buy a total of 106,200 tonnes of food wheat from the United States and Canada in a weekly tender c... Can Japan make the tough decisions? The question here is no different than in Europe or the United States: Can democracies still rouse themselves to do hard things? Prime Minister Yoshih... 70% of farmers tilling land again Some 70 percent of the farmers in nine prefectures hit by the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis last year have resumed farming, accordin... Calls for nuclear compensation grow in Japan The discovery of radioactive contamination in "shiitake" mushrooms grown in Manazuru town, Kanagawa prefecture, some 300 km away from the cr... Japanese hay market thriving One of Australia’s largest hay exporters will double the capacity of its processing plant to keep up with demand from Japan. Radiation affecting Japan's delicacies On Sunday, Japan reopened parts of the no-go zone around the Fukushima nuclear plant, but is still banning people from staying overnight. Japan set to buy 77.7% more feed wheat apan’s farm ministry said on Friday it plans to buy 77.7 percent more foreign wheat... Japan to import 6.5% less food wheat Japan, the world’s fifth-biggest wheat importer, plans to buy 6.5 percent less foreign food wheat in the year to March 2013 in anticipation of h... Fukushima farmers face decades of tainted crops Farmers in Japan’s Fukushima face years of additional losses as consumers continue to doubt the safety of produce from the region devastated... Bluefin tuna demand lures Japanese investors The world’s appetite for Japanese tuna, Wagyu beef and other delicacies prized in restaurants as far away as New York’s Morimoto is attrac... After 500 years, rice farmers forced off land One year after an earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, the country is still trying to recover and decontaminate... U.S. to push regardless of TPP talks U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk has said Washington will continue to urge Japan to fully open its agricultural and financial markets, regardless of... Fukushima farmers in two-front war Radioactive realities and radioaction rumors continue to plague farmers in Fukushima Prefecture a year into the crisis that started last March 11... HK set to ease curbs on Japanese food imports Hong Kong Food and Health Secretary York Chow has indicated that the government will soon lift some restrictions on food imports from Japan imposed be... Japan tightens limits on radiation in food Japan is to place stricter limits on the amount of radiation in vegetables sold for human consumption from April 1. Farmers suffer as buyers reject food Farming is the only thing Hitoshi Onoda knows — it is what he has done for the past 35 years. Japanese farmers use Qld soil to grow rice Japanese farmers affected by last year’s nuclear disaster are using farming land in north Queensland to grow produce. US says Japan ready to engage on trade demands Japanese trade officials on Tuesday assured the United States they were prepared to discuss key U.S. trade demands if allowed to join talks on a regio... Wheat in Japan may drop most since 2009 Wheat prices in Japan, Asia’s second- largest importer, may decline in April by the most since October 2009, putting food makers including Yamaz... Dairy firms to disclose milk radiation results Major dairy companies will inspect the milk products they produce in 17 prefectures in northeastern and central Japan for radioactive ... Japan suspends Australian poultry imports Japan has suspended imports of all Australian chicken meat and eggs after avian influenza was reported on a farm in Victoria. Salt-tolerant rice could aid tsunami victims UK scientists have claimed a breakthrough in research on rice that could help farmers devastated by last year’s tsunami in Japan. Gene breakthrough to help Japanese farmers Scientists in Britain and Japan on Sunday unveiled a fast-track way towards breeding crops with higher yields or resistance to climate change. Japan issues grant to support agriculture The Japanese government yesterday provided 22.8bn/- in grant assistant to Tanzania to support agricultural development projects. Food exports plummet after nuclear crisis The numbers can now speak. In the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that triggered a nuclear disaster... Japan agri ministry plans robot farm A futuristic farm run by robots is being planned for land that was flooded by the Tsunami in March, the Japanese government revealed yesterday... Rice farmers respond to slow consumption Japanese rice farmers have been struggling due to slumping consumption and their business climate is expected to get even harsher with Japan... Japan invest $2.7 in Nigerian agriculture The World Bank and Japan are partnering Nigeria with an investment of about $2.74 million to enhance productivity and market linkage of Fadama farmers... Japan expands rice ban Japan will extend a ban on rice shipments from a third city in Fukushima prefecture after local authorities found more tainted grain, deepening food-s... Young Japanese turn to farming The end of the job-for-life tradition in Japan has led the new generation to search for what they really want to do and for some, this has led them ba... Japan cuts rice output target Japan cut its production target of rice for food after this year’s harvest exceeded consumption and as demand may decline further after discover... Japan faces years of food contamination fears The damaged nuclear power plant in Japan came a lot closer to a full meltdown last spring than first thought. Japan’s rice farmers mull TPP future Osamu Tamaki is one of the few rice farmers in Japan who see an Asia-Pacific free trade deal as a window of opportunity rather than the death knell fo... Radiation affects 8 percent territory More than 30,000 square kilometers of Japan’s surface, or about 8 percent, has been contaminated by radioactive substances following the nuclear... New radiation scare for rice in Japan Japanese authorities have halted the shipment of rice from some farms northwest of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after finding higher-than... Japan free trade move criticized Japan’s prime minister hoped for praise at the weekend summit of Asian-Pacific leaders here for his bold pledge to join a U.S.-led free-trade pa... Japan to join trade talks despite farm fears The Japanese government is expected to decide on Thursday to join negotiations for a Pacific free trade agreement to boost the country’s sluggis... A Free-Trade Plan to Save Japan Yoshihiko Noda, selected to lead the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) only two months ago, already is contemplating a bold move. Japan farmers urge free trade to spur change Like other farmers on this fertile, coastal plain in northeast Japan, where patchwork rice fields stretch to the mountains beyond...