Japan News Update #23 (1-14 Mar, 2022)
Stay updated on the latest agricultural news in Japan, that we publish every two weeks.
by Yuki Sano
Eleven years from the nuclear meltdown, agriculture in Fukushima today
East Japan Railway Co. starts a shrimp farming project at Namie Station in Fukushima Prefecture. It aims to create a new local industry in the coastal area of Namie town. The JR Joban Line, where Namie Station is located, was partially closed due to the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Operations resumed on all lines in March 2020.
Source: JR East to farm shrimp at station to create new local industry
Kawamura Hiroshi, who was forced to leave Namie Town after the nuclear disaster, returned and started growing flowers in Namie. Now he ships out more than 200,000 orders a year, and his flowers fetch high prices across Japan. However, the population of Namie is only 10% of its former level, mainly due to the lack of work. So he has trained many fellow growers, who also hope to encourage more people to come to Namie.
Source: New businesses bloom in disaster-hit Fukushima
Sustainability movement in financial, fuel and fish industry
The Norinchukin Bank starts decarbonisation support with the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO). Norinchukin and NARO will measure greenhouse gas emissions for each production method and formulate new standards. If producers can recognise the reduction effects, the bank expects to incentivise producers to take action. At the same time, Norinchukin, which unites all the JA Banks in Japan, will cooperate with local agricultural cooperatives to encourage mostly small-scale producers to introduce methods with low emissions.
Source: Norinchukin starts decarbonisation support in agriculture
16 Japanese companies, including All Nippon Airways Co. and Japan Airlines Co., formed the "Act For Sky" group in March. The aim is to promote the domestic recycling of used cooking oil and other waste products to produce sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Other members include major plant construction company JGC Holdings Corp., food manufacturer Nissin Foods Holdings Co., and used cooking oil recycling startup Revo International Inc.
Source: Airlines join push to produce aviation fuel from recycled waste
UMITRON, a Japanese FishTech startup, announced that Kura Sushi, Inc., a sushi restaurant chain, sells sushi with Tai (sea bream) fed by "UMITRON CELL”, an AI-based automated feeder for aquaculture. This smart farm-raised sea bream is the first commercialisation by a major restaurant chain.
Source: Sushi restaurant offers AI-farmed products (Japanese)
Japanese food culture and company trends
The Government of Japan has set a target to increase exports to JPY 5 trillion by 2030, more than five times the 2019 figure of JPY 912.1 billion. To achieve this target, the Japan Food Product Overseas Promotion Center (JFOODO), part of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), promotes Japanese food and ingredients in various target countries. For example, renowned New York French fusion chef David Bouley promotes Japanese cuisine because he is aware of how it suits the global appetite and can transform health for the better.
Source: Japanese food continues to gain popularity overseas
Ajinomoto Co. Inc., a Japanese food and biotechnology conglomerate, invested in and entered into a business partnership with SuperMeat, a cell-cultured meat company based in Israel. The two companies plan to combine SuperMeat's cultured meat development technology and Ajinomoto’s R&D technology in biotech and fermentation.
Source: Ajinomoto investigate Cultivated Meat startup Supermeat (Ajinomoto’s press release)
The Japanese dairy industry faces the potential for massive raw milk wastage, possibly starting in late March when schools go into spring break. This is because demand for school meals usually accounts for more than 10% of milk consumption. Most recently, the industry was on the verge of massive raw milk wastage at the beginning of the year.
New technology from precision agriculture to caviar production
The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) has developed an AI system that monitors fruiting and predicts yields for tomatoes and bell peppers. This system analyses the plant images taken by automated monitoring equipment. It automatically detects harvestable fruit in the photos. NARO aims to put the system to practical use from 2022 onwards.
Source: NARO’s press release, NARO develops fruiting monitoring system with AI ( Japanese)
Kindai University announced that the research team at the University’s Aquaculture Research Institute has become the first to succeed to create all-female groups of sturgeon using soybean isoflavone. If practical, it could make it more affordable to enjoy caviar made from sturgeon eggs cured in salt.
Source: Japan researchers make sturgeon group 100% female, may lead to cheaper caviar
In Japan's agriculture industry, which faces a chronic labour shortage, self-driving machinery bridges the gap and eases the burden on ageing growers. Farm equipment maker Orec, an agricultural machinery manufacturer based in Fukuoka, Kyushu, has developed a robotic mower for orchards in collaboration with NEC and Kyushu University. The machine can accurately gauge its position within a few centimetres with Japan’s Michibiki satellite system. Also in Kyushu, Matsumoto Kikou, a manufacturer in Kagoshima, a tea-growing region, has developed an automatic tea harvester. The technology uses the high-speed regional 5G wireless service to be introduced by Kagoshima University and others in fiscal 2021.
Source: Farm aid: Japan's aging growers get hand from self-driving machinery