{"id":176490,"date":"2026-03-17T12:20:03","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T03:20:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=news&#038;p=176490&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-03-17T12:20:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T03:20:03","slug":"amaou-strawberry-seedlings-possibly-sold-outside-fukuoka","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/news\/amaou-strawberry-seedlings-possibly-sold-outside-fukuoka\/","title":{"rendered":"Amaou Strawberry Seedlings Possibly Sold Outside Fukuoka"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fukuoka Prefecture is investigating whether seedlings of its well-known Amaou strawberry variety have been distributed outside the prefecture after plants with the same cultivar name appeared for sale on a Kansai-based company\u2019s website. Amaou, developed in Fukuoka, had been protected by a 20-year plant breeder\u2019s right that granted the prefecture exclusive production until January 2025. Although the trademark \u201cAmaou\u201d remains registered by JA Zen-Noh\u2014meaning strawberries grown elsewhere cannot be sold under that name\u2014there are currently no legal restrictions preventing seedlings from being transported or sold outside the prefecture. The prefectural government and JA have limited seedling supply to local farmers and issued written warnings against exporting them. Officials warn that cultivation outside Fukuoka, even under different names, could weaken the prefecture\u2019s long-established brand advantage. <strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.agrinews.co.jp\/news\/index\/368231\" target=\"_blank\">The Japan Agricultural News<\/a> \/ <a href=\"https:\/\/news.web.nhk\/newsweb\/na\/nb-5010032317\" target=\"_blank\">NHK News<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fnn_amaou-strawberry_2022_WEB.jpg?resize=1400%2C933&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Record High Agricultural Exports from Kyushu\" width=\"1400\" height=\"933\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-147939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fnn_amaou-strawberry_2022_WEB.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fnn_amaou-strawberry_2022_WEB.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fnn_amaou-strawberry_2022_WEB.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/fnn_amaou-strawberry_2022_WEB.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/>Photo: Fukuoka Now (For image purposes only)<\/p>\n<p>Stay informed with the latest Fukuoka &#038; Kyushu news and events in English. Sign up for our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">free weekly newsletter<\/a> today and never miss a beat. Opt out anytime, your privacy is our priority. Get the inside scoop with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/mailmagazine\/\">The Now<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Summaries based on public content, errors may occur during translation. Images credited independently. Send feedback using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/contact\/\">this <strong>form<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fukuoka Prefecture is investigating whether seedlings of its well-known Amaou strawberry variety have been distributed outside the prefecture&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30292,"featured_media":147939,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-176490","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-fukuoka-prefecture","news-category-general","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/176490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30292"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176490"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/147939"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}