Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo

Reexamining policies from the perspective of: “The incident is happening on-site (Odoru Daisosasen)”

【Research background】

Japanese agriculture is facing an aging and declining workforce, resulting in an increase in farmland that doesn't get cultivated. We need to consider policies to break this situation. Since the number of people farming agricultural land is decreasing, it should be possible to expand the scale of operations if the remaining farms can take over the farmland from farmers who have left farming. However, the Japanese archipelago is long and narrow, stretching from east to west, and is rich in diversity, ranging from flatlands to mountainous areas, making it difficult to implement uniform policies nationwide. Therefore, it is necessary to promote policies that reflect this regional diversity. We are conducting research to achieve this.

【Research content】

Field surveys will be conducted to clarify how policies formulated at the central level are being implemented in rural areas, what effects they have, and what factors are hindering their success. We shall visit farmers and municipalities that implement policies, conduct interviews, and gain an understanding of what policies look like from the perspective of those on-site and local context. We will evaluate the policies from this perspective and make recommendations.

【Future prospects】

The retirement of the baby boom generation is expected to bring about further significant changes in Japanese agriculture. We hope to observe this accurately and propose policies based on new developments in each region.

Always approach things with a sense of awareness and the hypotheses -“It is okay to have wrong hypotheses, just come up with lots of them”. (Yoshiharu Habu)

【Educational Activities】

The time frame of agriculture, which is strongly influenced by natural constraints, is very long, and the past greatly determines the present. “Agricultural Policy" explains the development of agriculture and policies since the Industrial Revolution, which made the population explosion possible. “Comparative Agricultural Policy”clarifies the commonalities and differences through comparisons of agricultural policies and farm land systems in developed countries. The aim of the“graduation theses”, is to discover“facts”through field research. We want graduate students to analyze statistics such as the Agricultural and Forestry Census and acquire the ability to accurately interpret the meaning behind the statistical numbers.

【Human resource development goals】

Our goal is to nurture human resources who can understand society based on their own awareness of the issues, analyze data and observe reality, and logically express opinions based on the local. In thesis guidance, I hope to build a relationship with students in which we approach the subject of analysis together, rather than a relationship simply of“teaching”and“learning”.

【Track record of producing talented personnel】

Perhaps it is the nature of the laboratory, but I think many graduate students go on to become civil servants, mainly at the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. The career paths of undergraduate students are diverse, with some years seeing many students go to general trading companies while others go into financial institutions.

【Prospects for joint research and industry-academia collaboration】

We interpret policies from the perspective of local context and translate them into practical measures.

We interpret policies from the perspective of local context and translate them into practical measures.

【Social issues we are addressing】

Community-based farming, established to protect local communities and farmland, is facing dissolution because it cannot undergo the generational change even if they become incorporated. This problem is particularly serious in the mountainous areas. The future of agricultural and rural policies based on community is being questioned. We are conducting surveys through questionnaires and field research to understand the current situation of community-based agriculture in crisis and are considering the directions that should be taken in the future. Despite the urban decline due to population decline, we are conducting research on institutional issues and tax systems (particularly inheritance tax) related to preserving urban farmland lost through development and conversion, examining methods for promoting farmland consolidation, and analyzing the National Agricultural Census to gain an overall understanding of Japanese agriculture.

【Progress on current issues】

We analyzed the results of a questionnaire targeting agricultural cooperatives in Yamaguchi Prefecture and provided the results to the prefecture and agricultural cooperatives (FY 2021). In the 2022 fiscal year, we conducted research on community-based agriculture in Gunma Prefecture together with students, which was connected it to a Master❜s thesis submitted in the 2024 fiscal year. We also write general explanations (overviews) regarding the reasons behind urban agricultural land issues and subsequent land systems and tax systems.

【Future developments and outlook】

For the time being, we would like to contribute to the community by conducting surveys and analyses of community-based farming, identifying issues and measures for implementing the revised farm land system in the field, and formulating local development plans. Please feel free to contact us.