Akatsuki, the main peach variety grown in Fukushima Prefecture, may one day be past its best-before date by the Bon holidays in mid-August when many people travel to the prefecture, as its harvesting season is getting earlier year by year.

This year, the peak harvest season for Akatsuki came about a week or 10 days earlier than the average year.

JA Fukushima Mirai, an agricultural cooperative based in the city of Fukushima, attributes this year*s early harvest to good weather in early spring and the scorching heat in the summer.