Event Reports

Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food Gerry Ritz met with Japan’s Senior Vice Minister of Agriculture Masahiro Imamura on the sidelines of an FAO (United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization) meeting in Rome in November. Aiming for an end to Japan’s strict age limits for imported beef...

Japan’s Kochi Prefecture recently sent a 23-member mission on an 8-day study trip to Canada to learn about biomass energy and environmentally friendly tourism. In Toronto the group met CEO David Layzell of BIOCAP, a Canadian organization promoting use of biomass fuels. It also visited BIOX...

Sixty tonnes of tangerines (mikan) from Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo have been shipped from Shimizu port to Canada where they will be sold as "Christmas oranges" under the Sun brand. Director Yoshiharu Ishiguro of the JA (Japan Agriculture) fruit centre in Shonan says, "We like to export...

The Canadian Pacific Kazunoko (herring roe) Association organized a seminar in Nagoya last month sponsored by the Japan Dietetic Association and Healthy Nippon 21 Council. Two experts presented research suggesting that regular herring roe consumption may reduce blood cholesterol. They also stated...

The Canada Beef Export Federation held its annual "Canada Beef and Veal Seminar" in Tokyo with 270 guests in attendance. In addition to a press conference and reception, the seminar featured speakers from the Federation, the Canadian and Alberta governments, and the private sector. An ambitious...

The Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF), a four-day annual event launched in 2002, will be held from March 27 to 30, 2008. The Canadian Embassy in Tokyo will again coordinate the Canada Pavilion at TAF 2008. The Embassy will also provide networking opportunities and meeting arrangements between...

Japanese architect Hiroshi Kato, who is rebuilding Rinkoji Temple in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, says that he expects the Canadian white cedar he chose for the temple’s beams, girders and pillars to last over 1,000 years. "There is no problem concerning durability or strength," Kato says. He...

Japan’s Oriental Land Company has announced that Cirque du Soliel’s new theatre at Tokyo Disneyland will open October 1, 2008. It will be called "Cirque du Soleil Theatre Tokyo" and will present entirely new shows. Group ticket sales have already begun. Information summarized from: Nikkei Sangyo...

Although some freight, primarily auto-related, is being carried by Chinese and Korean ships from Japan to Canada’s new container terminal in Prince Rupert, BC, Japanese shipping companies are taking a wait-and-see attitude before deciding whether to use the new port themselves. Specifically, they...

Canada Pork International (CPI) and the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo sponsored an event to announce publication of the Japanese edition of The Canadian Pork Story, a book all about Canadian pork. Speakers from CPI, the Embassy, and the Alberta government told the audience about the safety and quality...

The awards ceremony for the second annual Maple Sweets recipe contest in Japan was held at the Canadian embassy in Tokyo. This year’s contest, in bakery and confectionery divisions, drew 117 entries. First prize of 300,000 yen (C $2,500) and a trophy went to Tomoko Nose of The Manhattan Makuhari for...

While in Japan to give a speech in Kitakyushu City, Manager Ry Smith of Canada's "Hydrogen Village" in Ontario is visiting universities and companies to look for useful technologies. At Hydrogen Village, over 30 companies are experimenting with hydrogen filling stations and fuel cell power. Smith...