Farm structure and rural policy in Japan

Japanese agriculture, by US standards, is highly fragmented and inefficient. Not only is farm size small but also most farmers pursue non-farm employment and are engaged in farming only on a part-time basis. These structural factors, which are either static or changing slowly, inevitably influence the making and implementation of agricultural and rural policies in Japan. Due to the rapid transformation of Japanese society, from the agrarian basis of early years to a highly industrialized and post-industrial society, a new farm policy agenda has arisen along with the need for structural adjustment of agriculture to meet changing economic conditions.