Local News

The Japan Patent Office has turned down Saga Prefecture’s request to register the trademark J-Pon for the greenhouse-grown Mandarin oranges it exports. The government agency said the proposed name resembles too closely that of Pon, a name already registered by an Ehime Prefecture agricultural association. Saga Prefecture is the nation’s leading producer of greenhouse-grown Mandarin oranges (10,600 tons in FY 2007), and hopes to boost its exports under a distinctive brand name.