Pacific Affairs by University of British Columbia Press

Author:University of British Columbia Press
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2012-06-22T16:00:00+00:00

The Japanese Farm Lobby and Agricultural Policy-Making 1

Aurelia D. George

Pacific Affairs, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Autumn, 1981), pp. 409-430

THE QUESTION OF ACCESS to the Japanese domestic market for agricultural products has been raised consistently as a trade issue by Japan’s major food suppliers, the United States and Australia. While imports of many agricultural products were liberalized in the 1960s and early 1970s, for nearly a decade the Japanese government has resisted all external pressures for abolition of its restrictive import quotas on a selected range of farm commodities, such as beef, dairy products and citrus fruits. Although the trade potential of these items is small relative to Japan’s total trade with the U.S. and Australia, they have become symbolic of Japan’s unwavering agricultural protectionism. As a focus of periodic dispute, they have also had an undeniably negative impact on Japan’s broader economic relationship with both countries.

It is widely recognised that, in matters of agricultural trade and farm policy, the Japanese government is influenced more strongly by political factors than by considerations of economic efficiency or comparative advantage. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is commonly portrayed as captive of domestic farming interests and bound to the dictates of an electoral strategy aimed at preserving a voting base in rural areas. This paper examines more detailed aspects of the exercise of agrarian power in Japan with particular emphasis on its organizational basis and current impact on policy outcomes.

The Character of Rural Organization

Japanese farmers are a well-mobilized and vocal political force united within a single organization of agricultural cooperatives (Nokyo), which combines interest representation with the provision of economic services to farmers. Whether measured in terms of its membership size, personnel strength, magnitude of business operations or range of functions, Nokyo’s dimensions are massive. In the countryside it is difficult to escape the ubiquitous cooperative presence. A compelling package of legal, social and economic incentives endows Nokyo with membership support from practically all Japanese farm households.

The total membership of Nokyo currently stands at around five million. 2 Members belong to one or more of the 10,000 local cooperatives throughout Japan. Primary unit cooperatives are incorporated into a federated structure of prefectural and national organizations, each with well-defined geographic and functional areas of responsibility. The scope of agricultural cooperative enterprise is all-encompassing, extending from basic farm-related activities—such as marketing of agricultural produce and supply of farm inputs and credit— to every conceivable type of social, cultural, medical, technical and consumer service. Managing these operations is a massive bureaucratic superstructure. Numbering over 500,000, Nokyo’s personnel strength surpasses that of any other Japanese organization, including the giant Japan National Railways. Insurance and banking services provided by Nokyo exceed in value almost all specialist banks and insurance companies. 3 In business turnover, Nokyo could be considered on a par with the largest and best-known Japanese trading companies. 4 Defined by law as a non-profit cooperative, however, its cartel-like operations 5 have flourished without hindrance from the regulatory controls of the anti-trust law.

Japanese farmers actively support their

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