RECENT AGRARIAN PROBLEMS IN JAPAN

The present agrarian structure of Japan is characterized by the smallscale farming of individual owner cultivators and concentrated in rice cultivation. This structure has been in harmony with post-war economic development. However, the rapid economic growth since 1955 has brought about gaps between the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors in terms of productivity and real income. Therefore, the Agricultural Basic Law was enacted in 1961, and the government has undertaken the selective expansion of agricultural production and the improvement of the agrarian structure. But these measures do not seem to have succeeded in eliminating the gaps. In order to accomplish this, more daring measures are needed, in particular, for enlarging the scale of farming.