Kameoka City in Kyoto Prefecture is accelerating the implementation of smart agriculture technologies to secure the future of the local food industry. Through the Open Innovation Center Kameoka, known as OICK, the municipal government has partnered...
A vibrant array of vegetables, all uniform in size, shape, and colour, arranged neatly in the supermarket’s produce section. This is a familiar scene which we take for granted as we pick up our groceries. However, a harsh reality lies behind...
AGRIST Inc., a company promoting smart agriculture, has announced promising results from a demonstration of its AI-powered cucumber harvesting robot, developed to address Japan’s severe agricultural labour shortage. In a joint project with the...
A new farming project has been launched in Japan to turn human hair into a valuable resource for agriculture. It’s a material typically destined for incineration, but an urban hair salon is working with a rural farm to use it as a resources...
BASF Japan, NEWGREEN Inc., and Yamatane Corporation have started discussions for a strategic partnership to support a new, low-impact method of rice cultivation in Japan. They envision a sustainable ecosystem that connects production with...
Tokyo-based company, Tsunagi LLC, has launched a new programme that allows urban residents to own a patch of a soba field, aiming to forge deeper connections between Japan’s cities and its agricultural heartlands. Tsunagi organised the first event...
Chubu Electric Power is pioneering a new method of rice cultivation that does not require flooded paddies, a technique that reduces methane gas emissions by approximately 80% and cuts labour time by around 60%. The initiative, trialled in the fields...
The “Planetary Health Rice Paddy DAO” has launched in Kofu, Tottori Prefecture, using a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) model for rice farming. The project, a collaboration between Tenrai Inc., Kofu Town, and the Miyachi...
An operator of the used farm equipment retailer Nokigu-Ou is turning heads with an unusual attraction: an agricultural gacha. The aim is to use this agriculture vending machine as a tool to alleviate the problems of Japan’s declining agricultural...
In the shadow of Japan’s verdant landscapes, a silent crisis looms: fusarium wilt is devastating sweet potato crops in Kagoshima and Miyazaki, pivotal areas in the nation’s sweet potato production. The disease’s impact stretches...