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| Mr. Abe is the leader of the agriculture in Kinnari. What shapes his character? To make us understand him better, we asked him about his youth, and the agriculture itself back then. |
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"I was a serious student. I loved baseball. That's all I can say."
"I had no interest in family business then. For many generations, we've been farmers, and all of my friends were in a same situation. It was a natural thing for us to take over the family business. I knew I would be a farmer, but I didn't know if I should have gone to a college. And then, I realized that I would eventually have to become a farmer regardless of my education in college, so I decided that I should start growing rice right away."
"We planted rice by hands then. There was no such thing as a rice-planting machine. We needed about 70 to 80 workers. Life was hard, but work was fun. I remember singing with everyone as we planted rice." |
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"I got married in 1973. We had children, and it became our priority to earn and save money for their education and living expenses. Now that they are grown, my focus is solely on rice."
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Kurihara District is known as a region for its high quality rice. Every year, it is chosen to be the Special A District for its fertile soil throughout Japan. With the increase in production and sales, they expanded their sales scope to Kanto (Tokyo area) and Kansai (Osaka area.) At the same time, they have increasing number of competitors every year. |
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| "Yamaya, Inc. is expanding the most right now. We are in collaboration with Universal Food, Inc. in Kanto area. Business with Shosan Trading Company, Inc. is mainly within the prefectures of Iwate and Miyagi. And we deal with Tokai Foods, Inc. in Tokai (Aichi) area. We deal an average of 250 tons of rice every month with them. But I feel that we are barely at the start, and I'm excited to see how much we'll grow." |
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| "We can't compete with larger companies. But our advantage is that we stick to our own region and that allows us to have fixed production sources. Who has made the rice? Where? And How? 'Rice with visible faces' is our strong belief. To ensure the safety of our products, we need to know where it comes from. The best way to measure its safety is to observe the living organisms in the rice field. Even if the farmers cut down on the pesticides quantity by half, if there are no creatures in the soil, you can't say that it is safe to eat the rice from that rice field. If we see fireflies during summer, that's a very good proof of safety." |
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From his stern expression, we could feel his passion toward work and his sincerity. That must be the belief that he has for his rice. His straight look was as if to accept the grand nature, to enfold each grain of rice, and to gaze at the future of agriculture. What is his expectation for his successor, Mr. Hiroyuki Abe?
"He has only been in this industry for a short period time, so he can enrich his knowledge of rice slowly. To build good relationships with local farmers is more important. I'd like him to learn not only know-how of this business but also to trust and to be trusted. We can't just try to make profit for ourselves. We have to support the farmers, and try to benefit together. I want him to learn that." |
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7th generation: Mr. Hiroyuki Abe
"It's been a year since I started working in this industry. There are both interesting and tiring tasks. It's a hard work. But I want to start from what I can do well, and enjoy what I do. I'd like work hard and play hard." |
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