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2 Mins Read Japanese food tech IntegriCulture Inc. has been awarded a ¥240 million (US$2.2 million) grant from the government’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to build its commercial cellular agriculture facility. Constructing its commercial bioreactor will mark a huge step forward in the company’s goal to launch its first publicly available cultivated product. The grant money […]
3 Mins Read While the plant-based trend seems to have experienced a slower uptick in Japan, it looks like it’s now hitting the country in a major way. From vegan bakeries serving up dairy-free Japanese-style milk buns to 100% plant-based burger joints and an all-vegan konbini setting up shop, there’s no doubt that the movement is heating up […]
2 Mins Read Japanese homeware retailer Muji is introducing a furniture subscription service as working from home becomes the new normal after months of the coronavirus pandemic. Launching this Friday (July 17), consumers in Japan will be able to rent furniture and interior items at selected stores through monthly or annual subscription plans. The retailer is scheduled to […]
2 Mins Read Great Lakes Tokyo, a burger restaurant in Tokyo, has recently revamped into a 100% vegan restaurant amid the coronavirus pandemic. For restaurant owner John Penny, the decision was made after realising how the animal industry contributed to the current pandemic and will continue to drive the emergence of future health crises. Burger joint Great Lakes […]
3 Mins Read Governments are beginning to take concrete action against plastic pollution. From Germany to Japan, new legislation is clamping down on single-use plastics as economies begin to recover from the coronavirus pandemic, which has shifted greater attention towards sustainability for both human and planetary health. Announced on Wednesday (July 1), the German Cabinet has agreed to […]
3 Mins Read Cultivated and other alternative proteins will soon have rules drawn up by Japan’s Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry. The announcement comes as food security concerns continue to loom large amid the coronavirus pandemic, on top of increasing awareness of the unsustainable nature of traditional livestock production. Reported by The Yomiuri Shimbun in June, Japanese authorities […]
7 Mins Read Between September and March every year, fishermen in the Japan’s small coastal town of Taiji go on a gruesome hunt for dolphins. Famously depicted in the documentary film The Cove, the so-called Taiji dolphin hunters lure pods of dolphins are into a small cove, which is then netted off, trapping the animals. Then the real […]
3 Mins Read Japanese food tech Daiz announced this month that it has raised ¥650 million (US$6 million) in a Series A funding round. The investment was led by Japanese state-backed fund A-Five and tech venture capital firm Mitsubishi UFJ Capital. Daiz will use the latest capital to open one of the biggest vegan meat factories in the […]
3 Mins Read Japanese food tech IntegriCulture Inc. has just completed its Series A funding with ¥800 million (US$7.4 million). The round was led by Beyond Next Ventures, NH Foods and AgFunder, and marks the largest Series A raised by the cultivated food startup industry and the largest publicly disclosed by any alternative protein company in the region. […]
3 Mins Read In a new wellness-focused travel guide, author and avid traveler Iris Law with local publisher Man Mo Media takes readers on a journey into Japan’s most beautiful and eco-friendly onsen ryokan accommodations. Titled The Onsen Experience: A Guide to Japan’s Hot Spring Sanctuaries, the 160-page book unlocks the history, culture and design behind Japan’s tradition-rich […]
4 Mins Read By: Roku Goda Cherry blossoms have long been loved by Japanese and celebrated in poetry as harbingers of spring. In the early Heian Period (794-1185), Ariwara no Narihira penned a piece about how people became very excited every spring when the delicate pink flowers bloomed. This year’s cherry blossom viewing parties were drastically reduced after […]
2 Mins Read MOS Burger has become the first homegrown fast food chain in Japan to debut a 100% plant-based burger. Dubbed the Green Burger, Mos Burger developed the vegan dish in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to reduce the carbon footprint of its menu offerings. While veganism has yet to become mainstream in […]
3 Mins Read Japan has recently published its plans to tackle greenhouse gas emissions under their Paris Agreement commitments ahead of the United Nations climate talks this year, but it has been attacked by environmentalists who criticise the proposals as well behind what is necessary to limit global temperature rise. It comes as a number of activists fear […]
3 Mins Read Umiki Whisky, the world’s first ocean fused whisky brand has recently been added to the portfolio of Japan’s leading premium alcohol exporter Yoshino Spirits Co. Made from pure ocean water in the blending process and finished in local Japanese pine barrels, Umiki comes with a smaller environmental footprint than traditional whisky. Yoshino Spirits Co., Japan’s […]
4 Mins Read A remote village on the Japanese island of Shikoku has been practicing a low-waste economy for nearly 20 years. By contrast to Japan’s nationwide record of being the world’s second largest producer of plastic waste, the town of Kamikatsu is on a mission to reuse, recycle and reduce as much as possible to fight overflowing […]
3 Mins Read Japan’s national flag carrier line Japan Airlines will be serving vegan burgers using Beyond Meat’s plant-based patties on select routes between Tokyo and the United States. The vegan burger option will be available to first class passengers on the select flights, and the promotion will begin this month and last until the end of May […]
4 Mins Read Perhaps one of the most damaging consequences a decade after the haunting Fukushima nuclear disaster forced Japan to close all but one of their nuclear power programs, the country is now planning to build up to 22 new coal-burning facilities within the next five years. This is receiving backlash from both residents who live near […]
3 Mins Read The northeast region of Fukushima Prefecture in Japan is set to become the country’s renewable energy hub. The latest project, which is sponsored by the state-owned Development Bank of Japan and Mizuho Bank, seeks to transform Fukushima, the scene of the triple meltdown of the nuclear power plant in 2011, into a centre that will […]
3 Mins Read A brand new Japanese convenience store, Vegan Store, has just opened in Tokyo’s Asakusa neighbourhood. The store will offer everything Japanese convenience stores typically offer, from a huge variety of quick bites to bento boxes and household goods, but all suitable for vegans. The opening of an all-vegan corner store in Tokyo, a place where […]
5 Mins Read Marie Kondo selling useless things online sparks no joy for our planet. Marie Kondo, the pint-sized Japanese personality that achieved global fame including a New York Times bestselling book and a Netflix show, has launched an online store selling branded lifestyle products. After becoming a global phenomenon thanks to KonMari, her decluttering philosophy that advocates […]
3 Mins Read Japanese future foods startup Open Meals is developing technology for 3D-printed food made from sustainable ingredients that can be transported all over the world. The company has managed to create made-to-order pixelated printed sushi dubbed “8-bit sushi”, which will be debuting in a Tokyo restaurant Sushi Singularity by 2020. This marks the world’s first standardised […]