Political Economy of Agricultural Reform in Japan under Abe's Administration

As a symbol of regulations as “solid as bedrock,” Japanese agriculture is a key target for structural reform under the Abe administration's “Abenomics” growth strategy. Its reform proposals have encompassed long‐standing rice production regulations, agricultural organizations, including the agr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAsian economic policy review Vol. 13; no. 1; pp. 128 - 144
Main Authors Honma, Masayoshi, George Mulgan, Aurelia
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Melbourne John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 01.01.2018
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects
Abenomics
Agricultural cooperatives
Agricultural land
Agricultural organizations
agricultural politics
Agricultural production
Agricultural products
agricultural reform
Agriculture
Cooperatives
Development strategies
Exports
Farmers
JA reform
Japan
Land reform
Management
Milk
P16
Political change
Political culture
Political economy
Political power
Production
Q13
Q18
Reforms
Regulation
Rice
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Summary:As a symbol of regulations as “solid as bedrock,” Japanese agriculture is a key target for structural reform under the Abe administration's “Abenomics” growth strategy. Its reform proposals have encompassed long‐standing rice production regulations, agricultural organizations, including the agricultural cooperatives (JA), and the controlled system of milk distribution. The government also seeks to promote agricultural exports and farmers’ participation in processing and distributing agricultural products. Led by the Prime Minister's Office, and taking advantage of changes in the political environment of agriculture that have weakened the political power of farmers and JA, the government has launched a reform offensive with variable impact: progress has been made in some areas (e.g. JA reform) but little change in others (such as rice production adjustment). The most significant challenge lies ahead in reforming the farmland system, which is yet to be tackled.
ISSN:1832-8105
1748-3131
DOI:10.1111/aepr.12208