The Philippines should move quickly and purposely to fill the shortage of fresh bananas in Japan, where the “Banana Morning Diet” has become a huge craze, Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Taliсo-Mendoza said.
Due to the growing popularity of the Banana Morning Diet, Taliсo-Mendoza said that over the last six months, bananas have been flying off supermarket racks in Japan faster show they would be replenished.
Created by a pharmacist in Osaka, Taliсo-Mendoza said the Banana Morning Diet has become fashionable in Japan on account of strong endorsements by celebrities there who have attributed their sudden weight loss to the regimen.
The regimen starts with a banana (or as many as desired) with a glass of room temperature water for breakfast and anything for lunch and dinner. Desserts are disallowed after meals. A mid-afternoon snack is fine. One must have dinner by 8 p.m. and go to bed before midnight.
A market of 128 million people, Japan is already the buyer of more than half of annual Philippine banana exports. Japan imported 970,000 metric tons (MT) of bananas in 2007, mostly from the Philippines and partly from Taiwan.
Cotabato (formerly North Cotabato), Taliсo-Mendoza’s home province, is one of the Philippines’ leading producers of banana and other tropical fruits. Cotabato has large plantation run by tropical fruits growers, including Standard Philippine Fruit Corp., a subsidiary of Dole Philippines Inc.
“We are definitely counting on growing banana exports to provide increased employment and livelihood opportunities moving forward, not just in Cotabato but in other Mindanao provinces as well,” Taliсo-Mendoza said.
The Cotabato lawmaker noted that under the Japan-Philippinies Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA), Philippine bananas would gain more access to the Japanese market.
Under the JPEPA, she said Japan agreed “to eliminate import duties on small bananas over 10 years.” She said the JPEPA also provides tariff reduction for other kinds of bananas, offering an advantage to Philippine exporters.
Taliсo-Mendoza said the Philippines could still substantially grow banana exports by enlarging market share in Japan and other parts of the world.
After Ecuador, the Philippines is the world’s biggest banana exporter, with a global market share of 16 percent. Last year, the country shipped out 1.905 million MT of bananas worth $440 million, or P18.1 billion based on the $1:41.14 exchange rate at the end of 2007.
However, Taliсo-Mendoza said the Philippines’ 2007 banana export volume was only 40 percent of the 4.65 million MT shipped out by Ecuador that year. Ecuador cornered 34 percent of the global banana export market in 2007.
She urged the agriculture and trade department to ascertain whether local banana growers and exporters require additional help — in terms of new infrastructure, low-cost loans, technical assistance, or marketing support — to build up productivity and expand global market share.
Besides Ecuador, the Philippines’ other rivals in the banana export market are India, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Costa Rica and Mexico.

Japan's Current Diet Session Set to Be Extended, Kawamura Says
Nov. 25 (Bloomberg) — Japan's government is set to extend
the current parliament session as it seeks to push through
legislation to support banks.
“The government will decide to extend the diet session
today,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary
said. Parliament
is scheduled to recess Nov. 30.
The opposition Democratic Party of Japan has threatened to
boycott upper house discussions on important bills, including the
bailout plan and renewing Japan's military refueling operation
supporting U.S.-led troops in Afghanistan. The DPJ controls the
upper house, forcing the government to extend deliberations in
the more-powerful lower house to pass bills.
Kawamura also said that a supplementary budget, which needs
to be approved for Japan to implement an economic stimulus
package, won't be endorsed by the Cabinet until at least late
December. “We hope to come to a conclusion later today about
whether the secondary budget will be submitted'' during the
extended Diet session, Kawamura said.
Last Updated: November 24, 2008 20:34 EST

OKYO – Japanese Finance Minister Shoichi Nakagawa’s resignation today over his controversial behavior at a news conference in Rome came as a fresh blow to the already fragile administration of Prime Minister Taro Aso, political analysts said.
The resignation was aimed at appeasing the commotion over Nakagawa’s questionable behavior – which was suspected to have been caused by his consumption of alcohol – as early as possible in the face of mounting criticism by the Democratic Party of Japan and other opposition parties so that it will not affect Diet deliberations on the budget and key bills.
Nakagawa spoke awkwardly and as if he were in a daze during a Saturday news conference after a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven major industrialized countries in Rome.
Nakagawa initially said today that he would resign after making sure the fiscal 2009 budget and its related bills passed the House of Representatives.
His resignation dealt a serious blow to the Aso Cabinet, which has been suffering low approval ratings.
The opposition camp had been seeking to hold Aso responsible for the incident as he had appointed Nakagawa to a key post, worsening his already difficult position.
When Aso formed his inaugural Cabinet in September, he quickly decided to install Nakagawa, a political ally, as finance minister and concurrently as state minister in charge of financial services.
As of Monday, Aso had instructed Nakagawa to stay on so his resignation would not affect the Diet passage of the second supplementary budget for fiscal 2008, the fiscal 2009 budget and its related bills.
But because the DPJ and other opposition parties submitted a censure motion against Nakagawa, and voices of concern had been heard from within the Liberal Democratic Party about the impact of the Nakagawa issue on Diet deliberations, Aso and Nakagawa were left with no alternative but to decide on Nakagawa’s resignation, according to observers from Nagatacho, the nation’s political nerve center.
A senior LDP member expressed hope that the fiscal 2009 budget would pass through the Diet before the end of this current fiscal year “in exchange for Nakagawa’s resignation.”
Nakagawa’s resignation dealt an additional blow to Aso, whose political leadership has already been undermined because of his controversial remarks indicating his willingness to review privatization plans for postal services and other statements.
The opposition camp is certain to continue to pressure the government, calling for the early dissolution of the lower house for a general election.
There had been concern within the government and ruling parties that Nakagawa’s resignation could lead to the Aso administration’s collapse. More LDP members likely will turn away from Aso, observers said.
Nakagawa said todayhe was “deeply sorry” for his behavior at the news conference after the G-7 meeting, but he insisted that what appeared to be drunken behavior was actually the result of his failing to take proper care of his health.
The minister in charge of handling the Japanese economy amid the worsening recession had been severely criticized by the media – both Japanese and foreign – over his behavior at the news conference.
“Japanese politics is on the verge of collapse,” one commentator said, remarking on the events taking place.

Morning Banana Diet has Japan … well … bananas!
Banana prices are rising and shortages are being reported in Japan, where a Morning Banana Diet has people in a frenzy.
Huh?
, which claimed that eating only bananas and room-temperature water for breakfast jumpstarted weight loss, regardless of what was eaten during the rest of the day.
So who came up with the diet?
A guy who studied preventive medicine in Tokyo. He says
bananas help digestion and improve metabolism.
Uh, not really, but if you’re not a breakfast eater, jumpstarting your metabolism in the morning will help weight loss. But you can do it with any food. Bananas happen to be filling and so is water.
from The Japan Times Online.
And here’s Banana Man, who prefers peanut butter and jelly:

Sumo wrestling’s most senior official resigned today and two wrestlers were given lifetime bans after testing positive for marijuana.
Kitanoumi, chairman of the Japan sumo association and mentor of one of the disgraced wrestlers, denied he had been forced out by other officials desperate to avoid further damage to the ancient sport’s reputation.
“It was my decision to resign,” he said.
on all 69 wrestlers in the top two divisions following the arrest in August of Wakanoho, a Russian fighter, for alleged possession of marijuana.
He was immediately expelled, becoming the first sumo wrestler banned for drug use in the sport’s 2,000-year history.
His compatriots, Roho, 28, and Hakurozan, 26, both tested positive, and were banned for life after similar results from follow-up tests conducted by Mitsubishi Chemical Medience – the only Japanese laboratory accredited by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The sibling fighters continued to deny the allegations over the weekend and demanded yet more examinations. But a Japanese anti-doping expert said today that the results indicated the pair had smoked the drug rather than inhaling it secondhand.
Kitanoumi, who holds the record for becoming sumo’s youngest-ever grand champion, has been heavily criticised for failing to supervise Hakurozan, who belongs to his stable.
“I am filled with remorse because it was my responsibility to keep an eye on my wrestlers at all times,” Kitanoumi, 55, told reporters. “They denied [smoking marijuana] and I believed them.”
Last week’s mass testing, the first the association had ever conducted, was supposed to allay fears that more wrestlers are using soft drugs.
Instead it has resulted in the downfall of a man many consider one of sumo’s all-time greats.
He will be replaced by Musashigawa, another former grand champion who fought under the name Mienoumi before retiring in 1980.