Graduate students at Mie University have produced biofuel from the region's tangerines, saying the technique provides a use for unwanted fruit. They believe it could be promoted as a locally sourced form of renewable energy.

The researchers at the university's Graduate School of Bioresources fermented rotten and unsold fruit, and plan to market the technique in the next two or three years.

The southern part of Mie Prefecture is a major center of cultivation for mandarin oranges.