Abstract
Japanese agriculture is in a bad way. Massive government subsidies and high import tariffs have failed to stem the inexorable tide of declining productivity, increasing import dependence, and falling area of land under cultivation. Against this backdrop those calling for the liberalization of the agricultural sector have gained ground in recent years. Yet agricultural policy, be it in Japan or elsewhere, is determined by much more than efficiency and comparative advantage. Indeed, the patterns of production, distribution, and consumption of food in Japan are subject to a variety of factors, including identity politics, perceptions of food risks, and rural policy. The main factor in post-war Japanese agricultural politics was the cultivation of rural support by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), aided by the disparity in weight of rural versus urban votes. The result was a system where the LDP ensured high prices for farmers by effectively limiting foreign competition, and in return enjoyed the support of rural Japan. This chapter argues that today, regional geopolitics is supplanting rural votes as the key factor in Japan’s agricultural policy.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
For identity politics see also Farina in this volume, perceptions of food risks are also discussed by Reiher, Takeda and Walravens, and rural policy is the topic of Jentzsch’s contribution in this volume.
- 2.
Malapportionment – despite the large-scale post-war migration from rural constituencies to urban ones, these constituencies were left as they were. The result: votes of rural dwellers came to be worth as much as four or five times as much as those of their urban counterparts.
- 3.
The ‘pivot’ was renamed ‘rebalance’ due to the fear that a ‘pivot’ would imply the USA was winding down its activities and presence in the Middle East.
- 4.
Carter, ‘Remarks on the Next Phase of the U.S. Rebalance to the Asia-Pacific’, (lecture, McCain Institute, Arizona State University, April 6, 2015).
- 5.
Naoi and Urata, ‘Free Trade Agreements’, 326–349; Solís and Katada, ‘Unlikely Pivotal States’; Harada, ‘Japan’s Agriculture and the TPP’.
- 6.
For an outline of the implications of the TPP for Japan, see Cooper and Manyin, ‘Japan Joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership’.
- 7.
George Mulgan, Japan’s Agricultural Policy Regime.
- 8.
Ibid, 276.
- 9.
Kan, ‘A Message from the Prime Minister’.
- 10.
Solis and Katada, ‘Unlikely Pivotal States’.
- 11.
Solis, ‘Japan’s Big Bet’.
- 12.
Liberal Democratic Party of Japan, Election Manifesto, (2012).
- 13.
‘Noda to tell Obama Japan Positive about TPP’.
- 14.
Pekkanen and Pekkanen, ‘All about Abe’; Hobson, ‘The Tragedy of Shinzo Abe’.
- 15.
United States Department of Agriculture, ‘Fact Sheet’.
- 16.
‘TPP gōi ikinai no hanei to antei no ishizue ni’.
- 17.
Clinton, ‘America’s Pacific Century.
- 18.
Campbell and Ratner, ‘Far Eastern Promises’.
- 19.
Kobayashi, ‘TPP’s Fate Rests with Japan, US’.
- 20.
The 47 billion claim comes from the Petersen Institute, as cited in Vanderklippe, ‘TPP Deal a Way for US to Reassert Primacy over China’; the 100 billion comes from Davis, ‘US Blocks China Efforts to Promote Asia Trade Pact’.
- 21.
Auslin. ‘Getting It Right’.
- 22.
For example, Itakura and Lee, ‘The Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Japan’.
- 23.
O’Shea, ‘Overestimating the “Power Shift”’.
- 24.
Ibid. See also Hughes, ‘The Democratic Party’.
- 25.
Auslin, ‘Getting it Right’, 29.
- 26.
Ibid, 29.
- 27.
O’Shea, ‘The East China Sea Maritime and Territorial Dispute’.
- 28.
Quoted in Mie, Ayako, ‘Stop Foot-Dragging on China’s Threat: Maher’.
- 29.
Maslow, ‘A Blueprint for a Strong Japan’.
- 30.
Quoted in Hiroko Tabuchi, ‘Japan Moves to Enter Talks on Pacific Trade’.
- 31.
Harada, ‘Japan’s Agriculture and the TPP’.
- 32.
Yamashita, ‘Ensuring Japan’s Food Security’.
- 33.
OECD, Producer and Consumer Support Estimates Database.
- 34.
Naoi and Urata, ‘Free Trade Agreements and Domestic Politics’.
- 35.
Yamashita, ‘The Perilous Decline of Japanese Agriculture’.
- 36.
Harada, ‘Japan’s Agriculture and the TPP’.
- 37.
As demand for rice has decreased consistently since the early 1960s, the government’s gentan programme keeps prices high by reducing supply through payments to farmers to leave their rice paddies fallow.
- 38.
Yamashita, ‘Ensuring Japan’s Food Security’.
- 39.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries, ‘What Is Multifunctionality of Agriculture?’.
- 40.
George Mulgan, Japan’s Agricultural Policy Regime, 167.
- 41.
Ibid, 29.
- 42.
Yoshida, ‘Japan Farmers’.
- 43.
Brooks and Cahill, ‘Why Agricultural Trade Liberalisation Matters’; Tokarick, ‘Dispelling Some Misconceptions’.
- 44.
Naoi and Urata, ‘Free Trade Agreements and Domestic Politics’.
- 45.
Ibid.
- 46.
George Mulgan, ‘Abe’s “Growth” Strategy’.
- 47.
Harada, ‘Japan’s Agriculture and the TPP’; Auslin, ‘Getting it Right’.
- 48.
Godo, ‘The Puzzle of Small Farming in Japan’. Godo and Takahashi, ‘Evaluation of Japanese Agricultural Policy’.
- 49.
Tanaka and Hosoe, ‘Does Agricultural Trade Liberalization Increase Risks’.
- 50.
Solis and Katada, ‘Unlikely Pivotal States’; Naoi and Urata, ‘Free Trade Agreements and Domestic Politics’.
- 51.
Tabuchi, ‘Japan Moves to Enter Talks’.
- 52.
Asia pivot renamed rebalance, see endnote 2.
- 53.
Headey, ‘Rethinking the Global Food Crisis’.
- 54.
Koizumi, ‘Biofuel and Food Security’.
- 55.
Morita, ‘Introduction’.
- 56.
Hook, Mason, and O’Shea, Regional Risk.
- 57.
Harada, ‘Japan’s Agriculture and the TPP’.
- 58.
Ibid.
- 59.
George Mulgan, ‘Abe’s “Growth” Strategy; Yamashita, ‘Ensuring Japan’s Food Security’.
- 60.
Takada, ‘Lobby Turf as Abe Reforms Farming’.
- 61.
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, ‘Trade Reforms’, 29.
- 62.
Tokarick, ‘Dispelling Some Misconceptions’.
- 63.
George Mulgan, ‘Japanese Agricultural Reform’.
- 64.
Ibid.
- 65.
Tanaka and Hosoe, ‘Does Agricultural Trade Liberalization Increase Risks’.
- 66.
Headey, ‘Rethinking the Global Food Crisis’.
- 67.
Ito, ‘Japan’s Rice Policy’.
- 68.
Ibid.
- 69.
‘TPP Gōi Ikinai no Hanei to Antei no Ishizue ni’, Asahi Shimbun; Yoshida. ‘Japan Farmers’; Yamashita, ‘Ensuring Japan’s Food Security’, Yamashita, ‘Japan’s Perilous Decline’.
- 70.
United States Department of Agriculture, ‘Fact Sheet’.
Bibliography
Auslin, Michael. ‘Getting it Right: Japan and Trans-Pacific Partnership’. Asia-Pacific Review 19, 1 (2012): 21–36.
Brooks, Jonathon, and Carmel Cahill. ‘Why Agricultural Trade Liberalisation Matters’. OECD Observer, Issue 229, November 2001, Paris: OECD. http://www.oecdobserver.org/news/archivestory.php/aid/551/Why_agricultural_trade_liberalisation_matters.html.
Campbell, Kurt, and Ely Ratner. ‘Far Eastern Promises: Why Washington Should Focus on Asia’. Foreign Affairs 93, 3 (2013): 106–116.
Carter, Ashton. ‘Remarks on the Next Phase of the U.S. Rebalance to the Asia-Pacific’. Speech, McCain Institute, Arizona State University, AZ (April 6, 2015). http://www.defense.gov/News/Speeches/Speech-View/Article/606660/remarks-on-the-next-phase-of-the-us-rebalance-to-the-asia-pacific-mccain-instit.
Clinton, Hillary. ‘America’s Pacific Century’. Foreign Policy (November 2011). http://foreignpolicy.com/2011/10/11/americas-pacific-century/.
Cooper, William H., and Mark E. Manyin. ‘Japan Joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership: What are the Implications?’. Congressional Research Service: CRS Report for Congress (August 13, 2013). https://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/R42676.pdf.
Davis, Bob. ‘US Blocks China Efforts to Promote Asia Trade Pact’. Wall Street Journal, World, November 2 (2014). https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-blocks-china-efforts-to-promote-asia-trade-pact-414965150
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. ‘Trade Reforms and Food Security: Conceptualising the Linkages’. Commodity Policy and Projections Service, 2003. http://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/005/y4671e/y4671e00.pdf.
George Mulgan, Aurelia. ‘Abe’s “Growth” Strategy for Agriculture in Japan’. East Asia Forum, June 5, 2013. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2013/06/05/abes-growth-strategy-for-agriculture-in-japan/.
George Mulgan, Aurelia. ‘Can Trade Talks Drive Reform in Japan?’ Current History 111, 746 (2012): 241–243.
George Mulgan, Aurelia. Japan’s Agricultural Policy Regime. London: Routledge, 2006.
George Mulgan, Aurelia. ‘Japanese Agricultural Reform and the Trans-Pacific Partnership’. Interview by Laura Araki, NBR Asian Research, June 21, 2012. http://www.nbr.org/research/activity.aspx?id=257.
Godo, Yoshihisa. ‘The Puzzle of Small Farming in Japan’. Asia Pacific Economic Papers, 365, 2007. https://crawford.anu.edu.au/pdf/pep/apep-365.pdf.
Godo, Yoshihisa, and Daisuke Takahashi. ‘Evaluation of Japanese Agricultural Policy Reforms Under the WTO Agreement on Agriculture’. Poster Prepared for Presentation at the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) Triennial Conference, Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, August 18–24, 2012. http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/125102/2/20120609GodoIAAE_AESPoster.pdf.
Harada, Yutaka. ‘Japan’s Agriculture and the TPP’. The Tokyo Foundation, November 1, 2013. http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en/articles/2013/japan-agriculture-and-tpp.
Headey, Derek. ‘Rethinking the Global Food Crisis: The Role of Trade Shocks’. Food Policy 36 (2011): 136–146.
Hobson, Christopher. ‘The Tragedy of Shinzo Abe’. Japan Times, July 20, 2015.
Hook, Glenn, Ra Mason, and Paul O’Shea. Regional Risk and the Security of the Everyday in Japan. Abingdon, OX: Routledge. 2015.
Hughes, Christopher W. ‘The Democratic Party of Japan’s New (but Failing) Grand Security Strategy: From “Reluctant Realism” to “Resentful Realism”?’. The Journal of Japanese Studies 38, 1 (2012): 109–140.
Itakura, Ken, and Hiro Lee. ‘The Implications of the Trans-Pacific Partnership for Japan: Agricultural Policy Reforms and Productivity Gains’. Paper Presented at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of International Economics, Senshu University, November 7–8, 2015.
Ito, Shoichi. ‘Japan’s Rice Policy and its Role in the World Rice Market: Japan Should Act as a Watchdog’. In The Rice Crisis: Markets, Policies and Food Security, ed. David Dawe, London: Earthscan, 2010.
Kan, Naoto. ‘ A Message from the Prime Minister of Japan Naoto Kan to Southern California’s JBA on its 50th Anniversary ’. Video Speech to Japan Business Association of Southern California, March 3, 2011. http://japan.kantei.go.jp/kan/statement/201103/03message_e.html.
Kobayashi, Kayumi. ‘TPP’s Fate Rests with Japan, US’. Japan Times, June 27, 2015.
Koizumi, Tatsuji. ‘Biofuel and Food Security in China and Japan’. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 21 (2013): 102–109.
Liberal Democratic Party of Japan. Election Manifesto. 2012. http://jimin.ncss.nifty.com/pdf/j_file2012.pdf.
Maslow, Sebastian. ‘A Blueprint for a Strong Japan’. Asian Survey 55, 4 (2015): 739–765.
Mie, Ayako. ‘Stop Foot-Dragging on China’s Threat: Maher’. Japan Times, December 16, 2012.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries. ‘What is Multifunctionality of Agriculture?’. MAFF Website. http://www.maff.go.jp/e/nousin/tyusan/siharai_seido/s_about/cyusan/tamen/.
Morita, Akira. ‘Introduction’. IPSS website, 2014. http://www.ipss.go.jp/pr-ad/e/eng/.
Naoi, Megumi, and Shujiro Urata. ‘Free Trade Agreements and Domestic Politics: The Case of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement’. Asian Economic Policy Review 8, 2 (2013): 326–349.
‘Noda to tell Obama Japan Positive about TPP’. Japan Times. November 17, 2012.
O’Shea, Paul. ‘The East China Sea Maritime and Territorial Dispute: A Stand-Off that Suits Everybody?’ Global Affairs 1, 4–5 (2015): 455–463.
O’Shea, Paul. ‘Overestimating the “Power Shift”: The US Role in the Failure of the Democratic Party of Japan’s “Asia Pivot”’. Asian Perspective 38 (2014): 435–459.
OECD. ‘Producer and Consumer Support Estimates Database’., OECD Publishing, 2015. http://www.oecd.org/tad/agricultural-policies/producerandconsumersupportestimatesdatabase.htm.
Pekkanen, Robert J., and Saadia M. Pekkanen. ‘All about Abe’. Asian Survey 55, 1 (2015): 103–118.
Solís, Mireya. ‘Japan’s Big Bet on the Trans-Pacific Partnership: The TPP Nations Should Reciprocate’. Brookings Institution, Opinion, March 25, 2013. http://www.brookings.edu/research/opinions/2013/03/25-transpacific-partnership-solis.
Solís, Mireya, and Saori N. Katada. ‘Unlikely Pivotal States in Competitive Free Trade Agreement Diffusion: The Effect of Japan’s Trans-Pacific Partnership Participation on Asia-Pacific Regional Integration’. New Political Economy 20, 2 (2015): 155–177.
Tabuchi, Hiroko. ‘Japan Moves to Enter Talks on Pacific Trade’. New York Times, March 15, 2013.
Takada, Aya. ‘Lobby Turf as Abe Reforms Farming’. Bloomberg Business, June 16, 2014. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-06-16/japan-inc-steps-on-lobby-turf-as-abe-reforms-farming.
Tokarick, Stephen. ‘Dispelling Some Misconceptions About Agricultural Trade Liberalisation’. Journal of Economic Perspectives 22, 1 (2008): 199–216.
Tanaka, Tetsuji, and Nobuhiro Hosoe. ‘Does Agricultural Trade Liberalization Increase Risks of Supply-side Uncertainty?: Effects of Productivity Shocks and Export Restrictions on Welfare and Food Supply in Japan’. Food Policy 36, 3 (2011): 368–377.
‘TPP gōi ikinai no hanei to antei no ishizue ni’, Editorial, Asahi Shimbun, June 6, 2015.
United States Department of Agriculture. ‘Fact Sheet: Trans Pacific Partnership and Japan: Key Outcomes for Agriculture’. News Release No. 0322.15, November 19, 2015. http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentidonly=true&contentid=2015/11/0322.xml.
Vanderklippe, Nathan. ‘TPP Deal a Way for US to Reassert Primacy Over China’. Global and Mail, Analysis, October 5, 2015.
Yamashita, Kazuhito. ‘Ensuring Japan’s Food Security through Free Trade not Tariffs’. East Asia Forum, March 10, 2010. http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/03/10/ensuring-japans-food-security-through-free-trade-not-tariffs/.
Yamashita, Kazuhito. ‘The Perilous Decline of Japanese Agriculture’. The Tokyo Foundation, September 30, 2008. http://www.tokyofoundation.org/en/articles/2008/the-perilous-decline-of-japanese-agriculture-1.
Yoshida, Tadanori. ‘Japan Farmers will Face a Fight for Survival as Tariffs Come Down’. Nikkei Asian Review, October 7, 2015. http://asia.nikkei.com/Features/Trans-Pacific-Partnership/Japan-farmers-will-face-a-fight-for-survival-as-tariffs-come-down.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
O’Shea, P. (2017). The Trans-Pacific Partnership, Import Dependency, and the Future of Food Security in Japan. In: Niehaus, A., Walravens, T. (eds) Feeding Japan. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50553-4_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50553-4_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-50552-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-50553-4
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)