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日本の農業と農村　（英語原稿）

Japanese Agriculture and Farming Villages（2004）

Chapter 1　

01
Japan is an island nation situated east of the Asian continent. As part of Monsoon Asia, it has a moist,
temperate climate.

02
Paddy cultivation came to Japan from the Asian continent several thousands years ago and has significantly
influenced the basic nature of Japanese agriculture and farming villages.

03
Japanese Agriculture and Farming Villages


Chapter ２
　
04
Historically, paddy cultivation was the most important sector of Japanese agriculture. In the Edo period,
even the salaries of samurai warriors were based on rice equivalents.


Chapter ３
　
05
In the mid-19th century, Japan took its first steps toward modernization and industrialization.

06
But the majority of the people were still poor farmers, and in farming villages feudalistic landlord-tenant
relationships remained in place.

07
Labor-intensive agriculture relying on draught animals and simple implements continued.
Rice yield per was 3 tons or so.

08
The majority of farmers lived from hand to mouth and could not afford to invest to improve agricultural practices
or their living conditions.

09
Until the 1930s, Japan’s economic development centered on industry.
However, the benefits did not filter down to rural areas, and economic disparities between
urban areas and farming villages widened.

10
Moreover, the Second World War, which ended in 1945, deprived farming villages of valuable workers,
and agricultural productivity plummeted in Japan.


Chapter ４

11
After the war, many cities were devastated and farming villages ruined, while hunger was widespread.

12
As one postwar democratization measure, agricultural land reform was implemented under the guidance
of the Occupation Forces. As a result, feudalistic landlord-tenant relationships were abolished nationwide.

13
After land reform, the majority of Japanese farms belonged to small-scale owners who worked in their own land.
The average farm size was about 1 hectare per household.

14
At the same time, agricultural cooperatives began to be set up in farming villages and came to play
a key role as the driving force in the modernization of agriculture.Almost all farm households
in a single village became the member of unit of an agricultural cooperative.

15
Agricultural extension services also played a important role in enhancing agricultural productivity and
improving living standards in rural areas.

Chapter ５

16
In the 1960s, Japan entered its high economic growth era.
Agricultural production also increased and farming villages modernized rapidly.

17
Seeds were improved and better production technology developed, mainly at regional experimental
agricultural stations. Agricultural productivity, particularly in rice cultivation, soared.
At the same time, the use of chemical fertilizers and agricultural chemicals became widespread.

18
Investment was made in agricultural infrastructure, such as irrigation and drainage systems,
to improve productivity, while farm mechanization was encouraged.

19
Rice yield per hectare reached 5 tons, and domestic rice production exceeded 12 million tons,
making Japan completely self-sufficient in rice by the mid-1960s.

20
Ironically, however, around that time consumer demand began to diversify away from rice to fruit,
meat, dairy products, and others.Consumption of rice, Japan’s staple food, edged downward each year,
resulting in rice surpluses.

21
The government therefore began to accelerate the selective expansion of agricultural activities,
such as livestock breeding and fruit cultivation for which demand was rising quickly.
In response, progressive farmers who engaged in dairy farming, hog and poultry raising,
and fruit cultivation, invested in the latest technologies.

22
Due to concerns over the annual rice surplus, the government carried out rice production adjustment
schemes in the late 1960s and encouraged farmers to switch to the cultivation of

22-2
In the 1970s, farmers gradually introduced larger agricultural machinery, like heavy tractors and combine harvesters,
to achieve higher productivity.

22-3
To make better use of that machinery, land consolidation was promoted and irrigation systems
and farm roads were upgraded.

22-4
In the meantime, large-scale facilities for drying, processing, and post-harvest storage were built for joint use.

23
Living conditions in farming villages steadily improved. Thanks to the increases in farmers’ incomes and
the Rural Life Improvement movement, the nutritional status of farm households made remarkable progress,
while rural housing was dramatically modernized.

24
In the 1970s and 1980s, cars, washing machines, and refrigerators became commonplace in farming villages,
making rural life easier and more comfortable.

25
The infrastructure in farming villages, including roads, electricity, water supply, and community halls,
improved with the help of public investment. The living environment in farming villages was as modern as
that in urban areas.

26
With the diffusion of factories into rural areas, employment opportunities for farmers increased,
and the proportion of part-time farm households soared.

27
Farm households in Japan can be divided into two categories: the majority are part-time farm households
that rely heavily on off-farm income; and the others are full-time farm households engaged in large-scale
and specialized farming.

27-2
In the mid-1980s, Japan entered the era of full-scale internationalization.

27-3
Agricultural trade was gradually liberalized, bringing about expanded imports of agricultural products.
The exception was rice, the major staple food.

27-4
On the other hand, with continuing concerns about global warming, reduction of the rainforests,
and other global environmental degradation, people’s perceptions of agriculture also changed.

27-5
Today people have an appreciation for environmentally sustainable agriculture.


Chapter ６

28
Let’s look at current Japanese agriculture by region. With its archipelago stretching
more than 2,000 kilometers from north to south, agriculture patterns differ from region to region,
reflecting climate and geography.

29
In Hokkaido, with its extensive tracts of arable land and cool climate,
large-scale upland farming and dairy farming prevail.

30
In the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions, rice cultivation is the major farming activity
to take advantage of their abundant water resources.

31
In the Kanto, Tokai, Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, and north Kyushu regions,
a variety of commercial crops is cultivated owing to their mild climate and geographic advantage
of being located near major cities.

32
In the south Kyushu and Okinawa regions, stockbreeding and subtropical farming systems are common.

33
Considerable diversity in farming occurs even within the same region.
Intensive farming with heavy inputs and the use of facilities such as greenhouses
and hydroponic systems is popular in semi-urban areas. In more remote farming villages,
land use-specific agriculture, including paddy cultivation and stockbreeding, is the general pattern.

34
Various agricultural products are collected, packed, and processed at agricultural cooperatives
or processing centers and delivered to consumers through modern processing and distribution systems.

35
There are wholesale markets for perishable food in every major city,
often linked to large-scale distribution centers.

36
Some agricultural cooperatives, supermarkets, and restaurant chains have their own food distribution systems,
and their share of the total has been expanding gradually.

37
Many quality- and safety-conscious consumers resort to direct trade with farmers known for their organic products.
An increasing number of consumers are also now in favor of “local production for local consumption.”


Chapter ７

38
However, Japanese agriculture still faces many problems and challenges.

39
As the Japanese economy grew, the share of agriculture continuously declined.
Its share in GDP has dropped to only about 1%; in terms of workforce employed, it has declined to about 5%.

40
Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate has been also declining with trade liberalization.
At present, the rate is about 40%, the lowest level among developed countries.

41
In addition, structural problems, such as small farm size, an aging workforce, shortage of successors,
and increasing proportion of part-time farmers, remain unresolved.

42
In remote villages in mountainous regions, out-migration and abandoned farmland are on the increase.
These raise concerns about the deterioration of the environment and the loss of tradition and culture.

43
On the other hand, consumers are becoming more conscious of food safety,
as seen in their reactions to recent outbreaks of mad cow disease, BSE, and avian influenza.

44
Various attempts are being made to promote environmentally friendly sustainable agriculture,
including organic farming.

45
In the age of globalization, no single country can effectively tackle such issues as environmental
and resource conservation, food safety, and the stable supply of food.

46
Despite this, we are sure that Japanese agriculture will develop further and overcome
its remaining problems through the effort and creativity of the people, as well as through cooperation
with other countries.

47
Jointly planned by Asian Productivity Organization andJapan Association for International Cooperation
of Agriculture and ForestryProduced byAgriculture and Forestry National Broadcasting Corporation.