OSAKA, Jun. 12 – A floating spherical weeding robot with dents on its surface gathered attention at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. The idea is to control the growth of waterweed by turning the water cloudy with the robot rolling around afloat. A consortium formed by the Prefectural University of Kumamoto and the National Institute of Technology (KOSEN), Kumamoto College, demonstrated the robot as a means to help grow rice more easily in rice fields with some difficulties, such as stepped rice terraces. The robot was exhibited at the expo for three days, until June 11, as part of its weekly program, “Necessities of Life: Food, Clothing and Shelter.” The robot … Continue reading →

IBARAKI, June 12 — A farmers’ market in Hokota, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan’s top melon producing region, sells rare melons with sugar content of 20 degrees Brix or more, named Maboroshi.   This year, Sungreen Asahi, ran by local agricultural cooperative JA Ibaraki Asahi, started selling melons on April 7. As of the end of May, the number of Maboroshi melons that hit the shelves totaled six, less than 0.001 percent of all the melons sold there, meaning there is very little chance of getting one.   The sugar content of melons is strictly measured at the farm coop’s light sensor fruit sorting facility which started operation in 2004.   The … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jun. 11 – The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) has released a booklet, “Oishi-Nippon-no-Todokekata (Beautiful Japanese Food Export Starting Guide)” in collaboration with Japan’s popular travel guidebook series, Chikyu-no-Arukikata (Globe-Trotter Travel Guidebook). It introduces the global food situation and Japan’s food exports as a comprehensive guidebook for businesses interested in starting exports, providing a step-by-step approach to developing export strategies and completing the necessary procedures.   According to the farm ministry, this is the first time it has published an export starting guide, regardless of product category. The book is distributed through the ministry’s regional agricultural administration offices.   Just like Chikyu-no-Arukikata, it has many … Continue reading →

YAMAGATA, June 7 — Yamagata Prefecture, known as a major fruit growing region and the country’s top producer of cherries, held a memorial festival in the city of Yamagata on June 6 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of cultivating fruits in the area and the start of this year’s harvesting season of cherries.   More than 200 people, including those from the prefectural assembly, local municipalities and agricultural cooperatives, attended a ceremony held on the first day of the two-day event.   At the ceremony, Yamagata Governor Mieko Yoshimura said, “Cultivating areas are facing difficulties such as the decline in the number of farmers and climate change, but we are … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jun. 4 – “Mr. Professional Baseball” Shigeo Nagashima, who had made outstanding achievements in the baseball world in Japan, died at the age of 89 on June 3. Hirofumi Kono, a 63-year-old onion grower in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, was a member of the Yomiuri Giants when the baseball legend was serving as the team manager for the second time from 1993 to 2001. Nagashima called Kono Gen-chan, the nickname Kono still uses for his business name.Gen-chan’s unforgettable scene with Nagashima is a victory in the Central League Pennant in 1996: the Giants once fell 11.5 points behind the top team in the league and the Giants made a … Continue reading →