With the average age of farmers in Japan over 65 and predicted to decline in the next decade, Takako Yoshino hopes to inspire a new generation of younger farmers.

Through its farmer's market, cafe-supermarket and community events, Eat Local Kobe is building a sustainable and robust network to support the region's small organic farmers.

For his food truck, Sameya, owner-chef Takumi Takase has developed a delicious menu of dishes using shark meat from Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, providing a stable income for local fishermen.

Hidehito Komaki pulls a dried pod from the flowering stem of a cabbage plant and carefully splits it. Both sides are lined with tiny brown beads. "Each of these is a seed," Komaki explains to those clustered around him. "A single cabbage plant produces ...