The Politics of Agriculture in Japan (The Nissan Institute Routledge Japanese Studies Series)

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 6
Copyright......Page 7
Dedication......Page 8
Contents......Page 9
Figures......Page 10
Tables......Page 11
Series editor’s preface......Page 13
Preface......Page 14
Agriculture in the domestic economy......Page 18
Japanese agricultural policies in comparative perspective......Page 19
Farmers......Page 20
2.  Gross output (by value)......Page 21
3.  Planted area......Page 28
2.  Production geography......Page 29
3.  Income dependence......Page 30
4.  Production efficiency......Page 31
5.  Producer subsidy equivalents......Page 32
Farmers’ organisations......Page 33
MAFF and the legislative framework......Page 35
MAFF-sponsored administrative groups......Page 36
Advisory councils......Page 37
Basic approach and methodology......Page 38
The agricultural societies (nogyokai)......Page 40
The farmers’ unions (nomin kumiai)......Page 42
The rural youth leagues......Page 43
The agricultural cooperatives......Page 45
The structure and functions of the Nokyo organisation79......Page 46
The unit co-ops......Page 47
The Nokyo federations......Page 48
Nokyo’s policy leadership groups......Page 50
Nokyo’s historical, organisational and legal heritage......Page 54
The agricultural committee organisation......Page 56
Agricultural mutual aid associations......Page 59
Land improvement industry groups......Page 62
Farmers’ political leagues......Page 63
Farmers’ commodity groups......Page 68
Other farmers’ political leagues......Page 69
The farmers’ unions revisited: Zennichino......Page 70
The JCP’s farmers’ union organisations......Page 72
Speaking with one voice?......Page 73
Institutional interest groups in the agricultural sector......Page 76
Public corporations, special juridical persons, or special corporations (tokushu hojin)......Page 77
Public interest corporations, or juridical persons for public benefit (koeki hojin)......Page 80
A corporatised sector?......Page 90
The balance of power: state dependence versus organisational independence......Page 93
Implications for the corporatist, elitist and pluralist paradigms......Page 103
Conclusion......Page 104
Historical traditions of political representation and party alignment in the countryside......Page 106
Early postwar representation of farmers’ organisations......Page 107
The farmers’ unions and the socialist party......Page 108
Cooperative parties......Page 109
The rural youth leagues......Page 113
The failure of farmers’ parties......Page 114
Political alignments towards the end of the first postwar decade......Page 117
Farmers’ political leagues......Page 118
The increasing dominance of the LDP-Nokyo connection......Page 121
Conclusion......Page 126
Nokyo’s organisational ‘sides’ and ‘faces’......Page 128
Membership......Page 131
Nokyo’s ‘related groups’......Page 134
The nokyo ‘detached corps’:115 the women’s and youth divisions......Page 135
Nokyo’s businesses......Page 136
Nokyo’s companies......Page 140
Profits versus cooperativism......Page 141
Generalist versus specialist......Page 143
Rural versus urban......Page 144
Nokyo’s economic stake in the Food Control system......Page 146
Nokyo’s economic stake in domestic livestock production......Page 149
Nokyo’s vested interest in small-scale, high-cost agriculture......Page 151
Increasing divisions amongst Nokyo’s farm membership......Page 154
The debate about Nokyo (nokyoron)......Page 156
Nokyo-bashing......Page 157
Nokyo’s financial and management crisis......Page 159
Intensifying competition in marketing and purchasing......Page 164
Vertical restructuring......Page 167
Agricultural cooperative mergers......Page 169
Functional disaggregation and other proposals......Page 172
Conclusion......Page 173
The national agricultural electorate......Page 177
The impact of changing rural society on farm votes......Page 183
Continuing socio-economic and demographic changes......Page 186
Changing constituency classifications......Page 187
Commodity constituencies......Page 190
The livestock electorate......Page 191
Individual electorates for speciality products......Page 192
Electoral malapportionment and farmers’ voting power......Page 193
Farmers as LDP supporters......Page 196
The ruling LDP as the farmers’ party......Page 201
LDP dependencies on constituency types......Page 205
The impact of party defections......Page 209
The impact of Lower House electoral reform......Page 216
The 1996 and 1998 general elections......Page 219
Conclusion......Page 222
The historical tradition of vote-gathering in rural areas......Page 224
The evolution of rice-roots mechanisms of vote-gathering......Page 225
Unofficial electoral activities: individuals......Page 226
Unofficial electoral activities: organisational......Page 227
Official electoral activities......Page 232
Distinctive features of Nokyo’s electoral activities......Page 234
Electoral activities of other agricultural organisations......Page 236
Criteria of electoral support......Page 238
Direct and indirect organisational connection......Page 239
Party affiliation......Page 242
Evaluating Nokyo’s vote-gathering powers......Page 247
Demonstrations of farmers’ and Nokyo’s voting power......Page 254
Nokyo’s diminishing powers of vote control......Page 262
The impact of LH electoral reform426......Page 264
The 1996 LH election......Page 270
Conclusion......Page 271
Categories of agricultural representation......Page 273
Measuring agricultural representation in the Diet......Page 275
The party alignment of agriculture-related Diet members in 1990......Page 278
The impact of party defections......Page 282
Factional affiliation of agriculture-related Diet members......Page 283
Direct representation of agricultural organisations......Page 284
Nokyo’s direct representation......Page 285
Categories of Nokyo representation......Page 290
Direct representation of other agricultural organisations......Page 292
Land improvement industry groups......Page 295
Other statutory agricultural interest groups......Page 301
Commodity representation......Page 302
Agricultural representation and electoral reform......Page 303
Dilution of Agricultural representation......Page 304
An institutional framework of interest group politics......Page 306
Positions of influence in policymaking......Page 308
Diversity of interest representation......Page 312
Conclusion......Page 313
Appendix A  Agricultural interest groups represented in the Diet by their leaders in 1990 (excluding Nokyo)......Page 316
Appendix B  Diet members’ leagues listed by respondents to the questionnaire survey......Page 318
Appendix C  Non-agricultural interest groups with which agricultural representatives have leadership ties......Page 320
Appendix D  Interest groups providing electoral support for respondents to the questionnaire survey......Page 324
Nokyo’s nosei katsudo......Page 327
Deciding demands......Page 330
Sharing the policy representation function......Page 334
The main foci of Nokyo’s nosei katsudo......Page 337
The producer rice price campaign......Page 339
Nokyo’s livestock price campaign......Page 342
Nokyo’s budget campaign......Page 344
Nokyo’s anti-agricultural trade liberalisation campaign......Page 346
Nokyo’s producer price strategy......Page 349
Nokyo’s anti-agricultural trade liberalisation strategy......Page 352
Nokyo’s policy influence......Page 355
Nokyo’s changing relationship with the MAFF and the LDP......Page 358
Policy demands for a new era......Page 360
Conclusion......Page 365
9  Conclusion......Page 369
Notes......Page 373
Bibliography......Page 472
Index......Page 484