The Origin Of Japan S Protectionist Agricultural Policy

"This book explores the origins of Japan's protectionist agricultural policies through an in-depth historical analysis of Japanese agricultural policies between the Meiji period and the end of WWII. It offers a constructivist account for the rise of protectionism, examining the policies of prewar agricultural bureaucrats who played critical roles in the policymaking process. It argues that protectionist agricultural policy in Japan was not originally generated by the 'iron triangle' (the Liberal Democratic Party, the Agricultural Ministry and farmers' organizations) but by a prewar agricultural bureaucrats' policy idea called shōnō ron (thoughts on small-scale farming). Ultimately the book reveals how, contrary to suggestions of previous scholarship, the protective measures based on shōnō ron forged the necessary conditions for the emergence of 'iron triangle' after the end of WWII, which in turn institutionalized Japan's subsequent protectionist agricultural regime. Examining such topics as the origin of protectionist policy, the formation of actors' preferences, and the broader effects of agricultural policy ideas this book will be valuable reading for scholars and students of Japanese politics, agricultural policy, and political economy"--

This book explores the origins of Japan’s protectionist agricultural policies through an in-depth historical analysis of Japanese agricultural policies between the Meiji period and the end of WWII. It offers a constructivist account for the rise of protectionism, examining the policies of prewar agricultural bureaucrats who played critical roles in the policymaking process. It argues that protectionist agricultural policy in Japan was not originally generated by the "iron triangle" (a political alliance consisted of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Agricultural Ministry, and farmers’ organizations) but by a prewar agricultural bureaucrats’ policy idea called shōnō ron (thoughts on small-scale farming). Ultimately the book reveals how, contrary to suggestions of previous scholarship, the protective measures based on shōnō ron forged the necessary conditions for the emergence of "iron triangle" after the end of WWII, which in turn institutionalized Japan’s subsequent protectionist agricultural regime. Examining such topics as the origin of protectionist policy, the formation of actors’ preferences, and the broader effects of agricultural policy ideas, this book will be a valuable reading for scholars and students of Japanese politics, agricultural policy, and political economy.

This book describes the profound structural change in Japan's agriculture from its politically marginalized, economically fragmented, traditional labour-intensive postwar mode of production to its current dual modern shape of a highly capitalized, politically organized and protected sector.

Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Economics - Case Scenarios, grade: 1,3, Cologne Business School Köln, language: English, abstract: In its latest White Paper on International Economy and Trade 2009, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry listed prevention of protectionism as one of its courses for “Domestic and foreign integrated economic measures” (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 2009). With 153 member states in the World Trade Organization, formerly known as General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which is a multilateral institution that liberalizes trade, establishes trade agreements and solves trade disputes, one might think that protectionism should not be a problem in the 21st century (Gabler Verlag 2009b). Japan joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1955 and is still a member of the World Trade Organization today. However, the government of this nation still feels the necessity to state deterrence of protectionist measures in a paper which was only published in June 2009 (World Trade Organization 2009a). Thus, the question arises how important is protectionism for Japan nowadays. This question will be answered by explaining protectionist measures and looking at the historical development of such measures in Japan since 1945 in the agricultural sector. The agricultural sector is interesting since Japan's agricultural imports accounted to over $50 billion in 2008. After the United States of America and the European Union, Japan is the third largest importer of agricultural goods. Based on total calories consumed, Japan imports about 60 per cent of its food sources annually (United States Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service 2009a). By evaluating official government sources, the current situation is assessed and the effects of protectionist measures on imports by focusing on the agricultural sector will be elaborated.

A major paradox in the political economy of Japan is why an enduring majority of citizens, as voters, consumers, and taxpayers, has explicitly supported or implicitly consented to a policy regime of agricultural protection that reduces material welfare and limits consumer choice. This book goes beyond standard political economy approaches that focus on self-interest pursuit by policy actors to contend that ideational factors are an important explanatory variable shaping the policy preferences of individuals towards agriculture and agricultural policy in Japan. The book traces the historical origins of ideas about agriculture, particularly those associated with the nōhonshugi tradition, and offers an original taxonomy classifying the development of agrarian thought from the Tokugawa era until the 1930s. It then analyses postwar media portrayals of agriculture in public policy debates around the 1961 and 1999 agricultural ‘basic laws’, charting the evolution of both economic and non-economic ideas in those periods. Finally, it investigates the predominant ideas held about agriculture by individuals today, as evidenced through public opinion survey data, and demonstrates that concerns about health and food safety, food self-sufficiency, and the environment strongly outweigh economic welfare considerations. The study concludes by examining developments in agricultural policy under the Abe administration in the context of these predominant ideas, and considers how those ideas could be operationalised in agricultural policy responses to major crises including the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.