研究論文
The Potential of Bottom-up Social Innovation: A Case Study of the Shiga 100 Agri-Girls Project
2025 年 61 巻 1 号 p. 63-74
詳細
2025 年 61 巻 1 号 p. 63-74
The number of young female farmers is declining, and women’s entry rate in agriculture remains low in Japan. Addressing these challenges, bottom-up, women-led Social Innovation (SI) organizations are increasingly emerging and playing a crucial role in networking and empowering women in the rural landscape in Japan. This study employs an SI ecosystem framework to analyze the transformative potential and systemic challenges faced by the Shiga 100 Agri-Girls Project (S100AP), a grassroots organization of female farmers in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Through empirical case study research, including interviews, participant observations and document analysis, the study examines how the S100AP expands its reach, advocates for institutional changes, and conveys the SI principle to deepen its impact within the local agricultural landscape. Findings reveal that while the S100AP achieves notable success in economic and socio-political realms, it contends with gender norms, neoliberal administrative constraints, and dependency on a few committed members. The study underscores the pivotal role of resource owners such as governmental bodies and media in shaping SI initiatives’ outcomes, while also destabilizing official narratives of success by highlighting underlying gender disparities and systemic challenges. It calls for enhanced policy support advocacy to empower grassroots initiatives in promoting gender equality and sustainable rural development.
Since the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) released the “Report of the Advisory Group on Medium- and Long-Term Vision for Rural Women” in 1992, the socio-political environment regarding rural women has greatly improved. As rural women increasingly establish and manage agriculture-related enterprises, gaining greater visibility, the public has begun to acknowledge the significant role they play in agricultural growth (Aoyama, 2017; Ouchi, 2017). However, the number of young female farmers is declining, and the rate of women entering the farming sector remains lower than that of men. Against this backdrop, the government has encouraged rural women to promote their “vitality (活躍)” and align with the government’s constructed notion of “shining women (輝く女性).”
To create a favorable environment for women to “shine,” the latest Basic Plan for Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas (MAFF, 2020) highlighted a need to alter the perspectives of individuals residing in rural areas, deepen their understanding of the beneficial contributions of women in agriculture, and incorporate women’s opinions and perspectives into regional agricultural policies. In addition to these top-down governmental approaches, a growing number of grassroots initiatives aimed at networking and empowering female farmers have emerged within civil society. Unlike existing literature on rural women’s groups, these emerging grassroots groups are neither composed of male farmers’ wives nor affiliated with the Japan Agricultural Co-operative (JA)1 or the community’s women agriculture commissioners’ group2. Most of these initiatives align with the nature of social innovation (SI), which addresses social issues in specific communities, reconfigures social practices, meets social needs, and enhances well-being through collective action and civic engagement (Mulgan et al., 2007).
Due to economic and social gains, these initiatives are often touted by governments and the media as panaceas for achieving economic growth and rural revitalization in declining communities. However, the difficulties and struggles within the process of initiative development and the power dynamics with other actors present in their interactions are often overlooked in successful narratives.
Therefore, this study seeks to destabilize the “success” narratives of female farmer-led groups by investigating the facilitators and barriers encountered in the SI scaling process. Using a case-study approach, this study examines the Shiga 100 Agri-Girls Project (S100AP), a civic group established in 2014. This group aims to support diverse agricultural practices, empower female farmers, foster community engagement, advance local agricultural and culinary cultures, and promote environmental sustainability. It has garnered considerable recognition and awards from national and prefectural governments, the media and the public.
This study advances a theoretical framework, the SI ecosystem framework, integrating the SI ecosystem perspective (Terstriep et al., 2015) and scaling strategies (Moore et al., 2015; Westley and Antadze, 2010). The SI ecosystem framework considers both the involved individuals and organizations at the micro level and the society at the macro level. Specifically, the SI ecosystem consists of SI’s embedded economic and socio-political environment at the local level, main actors and SI’s implemented scaling strategies. Scaling strategies include scaling out (replicating SI and disseminating SI principles), scaling up (changing institutions through the modification of policies, regulations and laws), and scaling deep (changing mindsets, beliefs and cultural practices through internships, events, seminars and storytelling) (Moore et al., 2015). This framework emphasizes the multi-stakeholder nature of SI and acknowledges the dynamic nature of its power relations and development, moving beyond linear approaches to better understand SI’s constraints in impacting society.
The next section reviews research on female farmers and rural women in and beyond Japan, along with relevant policies and practices. Section 3 describes this case study’s methodology. Section 4 presents the main findings of the case study using the SI ecosystem framework. Section 5 outlines the key findings of S100AP ecosystems and discusses the systematic issues and asymmetric power relations by analyzing a pattern of the implementation of scaling strategies and two difficulties faced by S100AP. The conclusion section highlights the potential of bottom-up SI and calls for multi-stakeholder collaboration and highlights the responsibilities of resource owners in facilitating SI. This paper concludes by presenting contributions, limitations and suggestions for potential avenues for further studies.
Ouchi (2017) delineates three phases of Japanese policies regarding rural women. The first is the “livelihood-oriented period,” from 1948 to 1989, which aimed to improve living conditions and livelihood skills for rural women. During this period, rural women played a crucial role in addressing labor shortages but faced gender-based discrimination. The second phase is the “human rights principles period,” spanning from 1990 to 2014, which witnessed a shift toward prioritizing the enhancement of women’s status and visibility. The governance was top-down, from MAFF to rural women (Ouchi, 2017). Initiatives generated during this phase were exemplified by community-based projects stemming from livelihood improvement initiatives and JA women’s clubs, as well as social network-driven initiatives formed through individual social connections aimed at rural revitalization (Oishi, 2016; Sawano, 2012). However, the implementation of human rights concepts fell short, leading to limited progress in improving women’s status (Ouchi, 2017). The empowerment of rural women is constrained by deeply ingrained gender norms and discriminatory practices. They include discriminatory behavior, gender-segregated industries and public spaces, and traditional beliefs regarding the division of labor and resources within households (Kashio, 2019). These challenges extend beyond Japan; studies in the Netherlands reveal the inequitable difficulties faced by rural women, including disparities in access to financing, professional support networks, and government subsidies (Bock, 2004, 2017). Despite women’s pivotal role in transitioning agricultural businesses towards multipurpose models, rural development strategies predominantly favor male farmers, perpetuating systemic gender disparities and inequalities.
The third phase, the “human-resource development period,” from 2015 to the present, responds to the declining population of young female farmers (under 44 years old). The MAFF’s strategy aims to boost the visibility of female farmers and promote farming as a career through initiatives like the Agri-Girls Project, which involves about 500 farmers and 55 groups. However, scholars critique these efforts for overlooking pervasive issues such as entrenched gender norms and unequal resource distribution. They argue that focusing solely on showcasing the achievements of rural women may obscure underlying gender disparities, inadvertently perpetuating systemic inequalities prevalent in agriculture (Fujii, 2019). Moreover, certain laws, such as those promoting women’s active engagement in professional life, have been criticized for imposing unrealistic expectations on women. These laws mandate participation in multiple activities, including agricultural work, entrepreneurial endeavors, domestic responsibilities, childcare, and long-term family care (Nakamichi, 2019). Such mandates not only perpetuate traditional gender roles but also fail to address the underlying structural barriers hindering women’s empowerment in rural areas. Therefore, identifying necessary measures and determining responsible parties become critical questions.
Women-led SI exhibits substantial potential in improving gender equality and enhancing women’s well-being in international studies. SI organizations empower rural women by providing work and start-up opportunities in Mexico (Maguirre et al., 2016). In Italy, participation in SI effectively cushioned the worsening economic status of households during crises despite showing no significant gender difference (Maestripieri, 2017). Case studies in Canada, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, and Serbia reveal the increasing power in socio-political spheres that rural women-led SI initiatives have. These initiatives actively engaged in reconstructing the state of affairs by questioning marginalizing and discriminative practices, institutions, and cognitive frames (Sarkki et al., 2021). However, these studies either focus on highlighting the economic impact or the socio-political one, which reduced SI’s comprehensive role in transforming society. Therefore, an overarching perspective, covering economic and socio-political aspects at a macro level and actors’ experience at a micro level, is needed. Additionally, as few Japanese studies on rural women even employ the SI perspective, this approach is expected to contribute to the international gendered SI studies through case studies in Japan.
Since 2000, changes in the extension system and prefectural governance have spurred varied policymaking approaches in Japan (Ouchi, 2017). Such a shift calls for nuanced analyses tailored to specific regional contexts through effective case studies. Hence, this research applied single case study methods. Additionally, the SI ecosystem framework provides valuable theoretical tools for analyzing contextual factors and power dynamics, facilitating a deeper understanding of successful SI initiatives’ potential for systemic change.
This case study utilized three qualitative data-collection methods: interviews, participant observation, and analysis of gray literature. These methods were chosen for their ability to provide comprehensive insights into the complex dynamics of the case study. Data triangulation from multiple sources was employed to enhance the validity and reliability of the findings. Ethical considerations were carefully addressed, including obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality, and maintaining data integrity. Regarding sampling, all six committee members, who are also founding members of S100AP, were deliberately selected. These individuals possess firsthand knowledge of the organization’s development, actively participate in its activities, and hold decision-making authority within the organization.
First, unstructured and semi-structured interviews were conducted between mid-Aug. and Dec. 2022 with six S100AP members and a Shiga Prefectural government official connected to the S100AP. These interviews, lasting between 1 to 1.75 hours, were thoroughly documented with participants’ consent, and audio recordings were transcribed verbatim in Japanese as separate documents. Initial coding was performed using Excel. Codes were developed through an iterative process of assigning, reviewing and refining codes. They include “motivation”, “responsibility”, “gender discrimination”, “establishment and management of S100AP”, “subsidies and collaborations”, “partners”, and “difficulties”. Following the SI ecosystem framework, a theory-driven approach was utilized to identify themes such as “Economic and Socio-political Environments in Shiga Prefecture”, “Main Actors” and “Implemented Scaling Strategies.”
Second, participant observation activities included site visits to S100AP directors and an auditor, where the author actively engaged in various farming tasks like weeding and blueberry-picking. This hands-on experience, combined with whole-day observations, provided valuable insights into the daily routines and challenges faced by the informants. Additionally, the author participated in events organized by both the S100AP and the Shiga prefectural government, such as attending gatherings of S100AP members, participating in an “Agri-café” event, and visiting a farmers’ market and S100AP’s collective selling corners. Photos and notes were taken during the observations. These experiences and collected data allow for a deeper understanding of the main actors and their relationships within the ecosystem of S100AP, as well as the role of core members in scaling out, scaling up and scaling deep. The data collected through this source were also utilized to verify the interview and gray literature.
Third, the gray literature analysis involved the examination of various sources, including the S100AP’s official website, committee members’ provided documents, social posts on media platforms (e.g., Facebook and Instagram), and reports about S100AP in newspapers and magazines. For example, a total of 27 essays from the S100AP website, including interviews with official members and supplementary data sourced from S100AP’s annual report, were analyzed for the profiles of female farmer members in the subsection of “Main Actors.” The data collected from these sources were verified as of May 1, 2023.
Shiga Prefecture, like many other regions in Japan, is experiencing a significant decline in the number of female farmers. To support new farmers, Shiga Prefecture has implemented four key initiatives: professional education, technical extension advice, financial assistance, and public-private collaborations. First, the professional education initiative produces about 45 prospective farmers annually, 52% of whom transitioned to independent farming roles, while 32% secured employment with JA or other agriculture-related enterprises. Second, a support infrastructure consisting of around 100 technical extension advisors throughout its jurisdiction provides essential technical guidance and support. Third, the Shiga Prefecture Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Leaders Development Fund serves as the principal financial resource and administrative assistance. Fourth, Shiga Prefecture Collaborative Proposal System, a public-private partnership (PPP)3, was implemented in 2009 to foster partnerships with businesses, non-profit organizations (NPOs), and local communities.
However, these initiatives have not been effective in increasing the number of female farmers. In 2021, of the 108 new farmers, only 24 were women. Furthermore, the retention rate of female farmers within the first five years was notably lower than that of their male counterparts (83% for men and 69% for women).
Gender disparity in the socio-political environment underscores the pressing need to promote female participation in farm management. Statistics from February 2020 revealed that of the 1,374 female farmers engaged in agriculture, only 32 were certified. Similarly, among the 336 agricultural commissioners in Shiga Prefecture in 2022, only 52 (15%) were women (Shiga Prefectural Agriculture and Fisheries Department, 2024). On the ground, female farmers face various challenges in their daily practices and business. The informants of this study often find themselves as either minorities or sole female farmers within their communities, highlighting the unique challenges they face, including the absence of opportunities to participate in business dialogues and inadequate assistance and advocacy within conventional agricultural groups such as JA. Of particular significance is the experience of single young female farmers who often encounter instances of inadvertent gender discrimination within their social milieu.
It’s hard to get more land. Some of the older folks in the community keep suggesting I marry a local guy to get access to land. It is what you would call sexual harassment in a city office (HS, Aug. 19, 2022).
Addressing these issues, women-led civic groups play a pivotal role in voicing the need to enhance rural women’s well-being. Notable organizations in Shiga Prefecture include the Shiga Prefecture Council of Livelihood Improvement Research Groups, the Kokoku Council (a group of female agricultural commissioners), and the S100AP. The first two were administered by the prefectural government, and both ceased operations because of aging and a scarce need for “livelihood improvement” in contemporary rural society. In contrast, the S100AP emerged as a self-governing civic organization comprising young and middle-aged farmers, representing a dynamic force in Shiga Prefecture’s rural landscape.
(2) Main ActorsAs of 2024, the S100AP’s network encompasses six main actor groups. The first group, which is also the most crucial, comprises approximately 25 female farmers, mostly in their 30s–40s. These farmers are diverse in terms of marital status, farm type, and scale, with farmlands spanning 12 cities and towns. Farmland acreage ranges from small plots to 45 hectares, with some managing multiple greenhouses or orchards. A diverse array of crops and products is cultivated, including staple crops such as rice and wheat, vegetables, fruits, herbs, edible flowers, and livestock. Their sales channels include direct sales shops, wholesale markets, restaurants, hotels, highway shops, online platforms, supermarkets, and specialized stores. Fourteen members inherited farms from their own or their spouses’ parents, eight were independent farmers, and five were employed by agricultural enterprises. Most members joined the network for information exchange. Within this group of actors, a council committee comprising five directors and one auditor oversees operations (as of 2022). Among the directors, three were elected to fulfill the roles of representative and vice-representative directors.
Second, the supportive framework of the S100AP encompasses individual, corporate, and student members. Notably, five sponsoring firms, including seed companies, hotels, and brewery companies, play crucial roles in S100AP’s scaling out and scaling deep. Approximately 40 individuals are support members, including friends or partners of farmers, as well as those inspired by media coverage. Additionally, student members are those who pursue farming careers in Shiga Prefecture.
Retailers, alternative marketplaces, and individual customers constitute the third category of main actors in the S100AP ecosystem. Retailers encompass well-known establishments, such as Aeon supermarkets, the Yahoo Online store, and the online sales channels of official members. Alternative marketplaces are mainly in Shiga Prefecture, with some in other regions.
Fourth, governmental bodies include the MAFF, the Cabinet Office, the Shiga Prefectural governments, and the city governments. Fifth, PPP organizations collaborating with the S100AP include the Forestry and Fisheries Leaders Development Fund, high schools, the Kokoku Council, NPOs, organic farms, and social innovation initiatives in other prefectures. Sixth, local media outlets that have covered S100AP-related stories include local magazines and newspapers, along with social media platforms such as Instagram, LINE, Facebook, and its official website.
Among the six main actors, support members, government bodies, and the media are categorized as resource owners, because they provide financial, administrative and social support which benefits S100AP’s sustainability and scaling. They are motivated by upholding ethical and moral imperatives, corporate social responsibility, and political objectives.
(3) Implemented Scaling StrategiesS100AP has experienced two phases of development. The first phase, the formation phase, saw the S100AP serving as a forum for camaraderie and knowledge sharing among female farmers. Informal gatherings and shared meals fostered a sense of community and solidarity among members. After adopting the “Shiga 100 Agri-Girls Project” moniker in 2015, the seven founding members engaged in activities aiming to “nurture people to produce good stuff.” The second scaling phase is characterized by its institutionalization into a membership system, expansion of the scale and impact, and the increased number of main actors within its ecosystem. According to the founding members, the initial institutionalization of S100AP was incentivized by pragmatism rather than prosocial and ethical aspirations like gender equality or community revitalization. In order to obtain sponsorship and collaboration from governmental bodies and support members (big corporations), S100AP sets its objective based on the requirements of these resource owners to fulfill their ethical needs and practical goals. To say, S100AP initially had no aspiration to strive for gender equality or community revitalization but generated such objectives and effects during their practices.
Scaling OutThe main scaling-out strategies implemented by S100AP include increasing the number of official and support members and developing multiple sales channels. The S100AP increased membership from the original 10 founding members to approximately 25 female farmers, over 40 individual supporters, and five corporate supporters. Annual membership fees from official members and individual support members were set at 3,000 JPY while corporate support members pay 10,000 JPY. Students are exempt from membership fees. According to S100AP’s annual report, the membership fee income was 236,500 JPY in FY2021 and 261,500 JPY in FY2022.
By scaling out, the S100AP leverages various distribution channels, including local and regional farmers’ markets, dedicated sections within chain supermarkets, direct sales platforms, and online marketplaces. Through collective selling, the S100AP effectively taps into both niche and broad markets while also enabling support members to fulfill their social and ethical aspirations, such as corporate social responsibility and supporting local farmers by providing sales channels for S100AP products. Female farmer members also benefit from such scaling-out activities.
Individual farmers like us often find it challenging to access markets such as supermarkets or hotels. However, through collaborative efforts within the S100AP, they are more willing to engage in business with us (TK, married, 50s, Aug. 23, 2022).
Despite the expectation for all farmer members to actively participate in implementing “scaling out” strategies, the author’s field observations suggest that only a minority, mainly comprising the founding members and a few active members, engage in collective selling. In addition, event income was 188,590 JPY in FY2021 and significantly declined to 23,205 JPY in FY2022. The financial deficiency compels the S100AP to prioritize securing funding from resource owners by compromising its SI principles. For instance, they may accept members using heavy pesticides to increase member fees, which contradicts their goal of promoting environmental sustainability.
Scaling UpBased on the analysis of gray literature of government documents, media reports, and S100AP’s annual reports and supplemented by interviews, S100AP has been actively engaged in various scaling-up initiatives, including public–private partnerships, the reallocation of institutional resources through subsidies, participation in policy development meetings, and engagement with governors.
First, S100AP has closely collaborated with governmental bodies and PPP organizations to promote agriculture as a rewarding career and increase the number of women entering farming or agri-entrepreneurship. Shiga Prefecture allocated approximately 12 million JPY over two years for tailored educational lectures, events, and sessions. S100AP, in collaboration with PPP organizations, actively participated in delivering lectures at various events such as agri-cafés, symposiums on new farmers, and Agribusiness Management Seminars for women. According to government reports, these efforts attracted 129 attendees at the agri-café and agribusiness field excursions and 44 participants in agribusiness management seminars. However, the informal and short-term nature of these PPPs constrains the impact of S100AP.
Second, the S100AP has received subsidies from governmental bodies. The official S100AP website and various promotional materials including logos, banners, T-shirts, packaging, and stickers were produced as part of a collaborative effort by Shiga Prefecture governments. In addition, one notable subsidy amounting to 308,314 JPY was allocated to S100AP to promote the active participation of women by MAFF in FY 2021. However, securing government subsidies poses considerable challenges. Informants uniformly expressed empathy, employing the Japanese term “taihen” (meaning “arduous”), to convey the taxing nature of the paperwork burden shouldered by the representative director during subsidy applications. For the organization’s sustainability, S100AP’s directors strongly advocated for more funding: At least 300,000 JPY is needed to offset expenditures related to operating costs and cyber fees for our survival. We need to demonstrate our group’s significance beyond information-sharing bonding among members to qualify for subsidies (HS, Aug. 19, 2022). Unfortunately, S100AP did not receive any subsidy in FY2022.
Third, the S100AP embarked on political outreach initiatives targeting both Shiga Prefecture and municipal governments. Owing to its esteemed reputation among governmental bodies, PPP organizations, and the media, the S100AP has provided numerous opportunities to contribute to policymaking discussions focusing on enhancing the circumstances of female farmers and entrepreneurs. These engagements occurred primarily in Shiga Prefecture, Kusatsu City, and Omihachiman City. Finally, in addition to engaging in meetings with prefectural and city officials responsible for agricultural administration, the representative directors of the S100AP have also seized opportunities to converse with the Governor of Shiga Prefecture and the Minister of the Cabinet Office. Similar to scaling out, only three directors of S100AP and a few core members, most of whom are founding members, played significant roles in these scaling-up activities. Moreover, securing subsidies and advocating for female farmers prove to be daunting tasks. Compared to the significant time and energy invested, the returns are minimal and hard to trace, suggesting an asymmetric power relation between the civic groups and governmental bodies.
Scaling DeepThe S100AP employs scaling-deep strategies encompassing storytelling, brand promotion, community engagement through collaboration and education, intern programs and media coverage.
Firstly, promotional materials featuring stories of female farmers and S100AP initiatives are prominently displayed by retailers and alternative marketplace venues to enhance visibility and awareness. S100AP’s branding, including its banners, newspaper clippings, and logos on products with farmers’ names, solidifies its presence in these spaces. Through diverse sales channels, the S100AP establishes direct and indirect connections with consumers, effectively expanding its reach and promoting agricultural practices and community engagement.
Secondly, S100AP organizes various events such as sessions focusing on agricultural techniques and promotional strategies for its members, farm visits, and technical educational seminars for the public. These initiatives empower farmers and facilitate connections between producers and consumers. For instance, half of the informants uniformly mentioned the “Blue Sky Restaurant” hosted by local hotel chefs and S100AP, reported by the local newspaper as a unique experience allowing consumers to participate in vegetable harvesting and enjoy fresh produce on-site. This effectively showcases the stories and agricultural products of female farmers. In addition to shortening the distance from farm to table and rebuilding relationships with consumers, S100AP actively educates students in schools about the significance of environmental interconnectedness through lectures and handmade organic lunch boxes.
Finally, S100AP established an internship and trainee program to generate new female farmers. In 2020, five trainees completed their training, with one hired by a member farm. She also became a director. However, participant observation and interviews suggest that scaling-deep activities have predominantly involved core members. While farm visits and technical study sessions attract a small number of female farmer members, broader participation remains limited.
Overall, despite the importance and contributions of scaling activities for S100AP’s growth and ecosystem vitality, over-dependence on founding members is evident. Core members often face trade-offs when S100AP activities conflict with women’s domestic responsibilities as spouses and mothers, or regional socio-political duties. For instance, one committee member has been caring for her grandson for several years, limiting her dedication to S100AP activities. Another director declined an agricultural commissioner offer due to conflicting responsibilities, which she must fulfill if her mother-in-law retires from the position, necessitating her resignation from S100AP.
This section revisits the primary findings within the context of the SI ecosystem framework and illuminates systematic issues constraining S100AP’s transformative potential and the power dynamics within its ecosystem by analyzing scaling patterns and encountered difficulties.
(1) Findings RecapDuring the “Human Resource Development Period,” the national government aimed to enhance the visibility of female farmers and encourage women to pursue farming careers, exemplified by initiatives like the Agri-Girls Project. S100AP emerged as Shiga Prefecture’s first citizen-led organization for female farmers, gaining recognition in mainstream media and governmental bodies as a successful bottom-up SI. However, despite governmental efforts to create supportive economic and socio-political environments for new farmers and acknowledge female farmers’ contributions, gender discrimination persists in rural communities. Single female farmers face challenges accessing resources like land and capital, along with subtle gender biases. Married women encounter additional responsibilities within traditional agricultural organizations (JA or local community), balancing caregiving, household management, and family duties alongside farming. Successful female entrepreneur farmers praised in official narratives often manage demanding schedules.
S100AP’s ecosystem includes six main actor groups: (1) female farmer members, (2) supporting members, (3) retailers, alternative marketplaces, and consumers, (4) governmental bodies, (5) public-private partnership organizations, and (6) media. Resource owners such as support members, government bodies, and media play pivotal roles in facilitating or hindering scaling activities.
Implemented scaling-out strategies involve establishing memberships, support networks, and collective marketing efforts. Scaling-up strategies include forming public-private partnerships, securing grants and subsidies, and influencing policy. Scaling-deep strategies focus on promoting diverse farming styles, fostering human-nature relationships, and enhancing producer-consumer connections through storytelling via various media platforms, workshops, cultural activities, and training opportunities for new farmers and entrepreneurs.
(2) Systematic issues and Power DynamicsThe case study of S100AP reveals a pattern in implementing scaling strategies through bottom-up SI. Successful scaling-out efforts lead to economic gains and visible outcomes, often praised by resource owners like governmental bodies, media, and corporations in official reports and publications. This media and public exposure enhances S100AP’s reputation and involvement in scaling-up activities. However, the extent to which S100AP can effectively voice its experiences and needs, and engage in political advocacy for rural women, is largely controlled by resource owners. In return, scaling-up activities provide unstable financial benefits and social recognition to S100AP. Endorsed by the “success” of scaling-out and scaling-up, S100AP gains opportunities to engage in scaling-deep activities, educating and promoting its transformative SI principles. This pattern underscores an asymmetric power relation between bottom-up SI organizations and resource owners.
Specifically, S100AP faces two primary challenges. First, scaling strategies are predominantly led by a minority of committee members and active participants, placing a disproportionate burden on these individuals. The additional responsibilities assumed by female farmer members highlight “unrealistic expectations imposed on women” (Nakamichi, 2019), encompassing not only agricultural work, entrepreneurial pursuits, domestic responsibilities, childcare, and long-term family care, but also socio-political responsibilities within conventional agricultural organizations (JA and agricultural committee in local communities), civic groups and governmental bodies. Despite their crucial roles, female farmer entrepreneurs receive insufficient support, benefits, and representation in return, trapped in a cycle of increasing responsibilities with growing reputations.
Agreeing with Fujii’s critique (2019), this study argues that highlighting rural women’s successes in official narratives does not improve their well-being but exacerbates underlying gender disparities by intensifying burdens and expectations. Thus, while the form of women-led entities has evolved—from top-down to bottom-up, from affiliations with conventional agricultural organizations to civic groups—the status of gender equality in rural areas has seen limited improvement. Persistent gender issues rooted in the “human rights principle period” (Ouchi, 2017) continue to permeate official and lay narratives, agricultural practices, and rural communities, hindering progress toward enhancing rural women’s status in subtle ways.
Secondly, S100AP struggles with scaling-up, primarily concerning interactions with governmental bodies. The scaling-up process is crucial as innovations at the niche level must influence broader spatial and institutional dimensions, altering resource flows, laws, norms, and social connections for comprehensive systemic effects (Moore et al., 2015). For instance, securing stable and suitable subsidy projects is imperative for grassroots civic groups like S100AP to ensure financial sustainability. However, government subsidies are often temporary, and the application process is burdensome. This challenge aligns with international studies highlighting rural women’s barriers in accessing financing, professional networks, and government subsidies (Bock, 2004, 2017). These difficulties are exacerbated by administrative systems promoting neoliberal policies, favoring budget-driven projects with short-term objectives within single fiscal years (Hirai, 2022). Consequently, official records and reports emphasize “objective” empirical data and “facts” aligned with government narratives, privileging professional projects from large corporations embracing neoliberalism. This leaves minimal room for small-scale and grassroots initiatives to innovate. Grassroots civic groups may compromise SI principles to fit policy frameworks or succumb to governmental administration, a phenomenon termed “amendment, distortion, or hijacking” of SI principles in response to local contexts and power dynamics (Westley, 2017).
In contrast to rural gender studies, this study argues that the neoliberal administrative system, intertwined with gender norms, constrains the transformative potential of grassroots SI initiatives.
In conclusion, the S100AP exemplifies the potential of bottom-up Social Innovation (SI) initiatives to empower rural women and foster sustainable rural development. However, its effectiveness is constrained by entrenched gender norms and the neoliberal administrative systems prevalent in Japan. Overcoming these challenges requires collaborative efforts from policymakers, governmental bodies, corporations, and the media to create a supportive environment where grassroots initiatives like the S100AP can thrive. By leveraging insights from this study and applying the SI ecosystem framework, stakeholders can work towards fostering more inclusive and equitable communities where initiatives such as the S100AP can fully realize their transformative potential.
This paper proposes two key recommendations for future action. Firstly, it is recommended that governmental bodies establish cross-sectional departments staffed with specialists tasked with facilitating and monitoring the incubation of SI initiatives in local communities and organizations. Administrative support must encompass a deep understanding of the principles underlying each SI initiative and a willingness to accommodate the trial-and-error processes typical of small-scale civic groups. Secondly, there is a critical need to advocate for greater representation of rural women in policy-making processes and ensure the implementation of gender-sensitive policies aimed at dismantling systemic barriers. This study expands upon international gendered SI studies introduced in Section 2 by examining SI groups’ activities and impacts on economic and socio-political spheres at both macro and micro levels through analysis of network and power relations within the SI ecosystem framework. It underscores how neoliberal administrative practices intertwined with gender norms restrict the potential of women-led SI initiatives. This work also contributes to international rural gender studies by presenting a case study from Japan through an SI lens.
Given the varied characteristics of SI ecosystems and the complex socio-political landscape rural women in agriculture navigate, applying the insights gleaned from the S100AP case study to all prefectures may not be straightforward. Additionally, this article was written in English, which may pose challenges in fully capturing the nuances of the language and cultural context in which the S100AP operates. Although the author retained some crucial kana characters, translation and interpretation issues could have potentially affected the accuracy and interpretation of certain details or nuances within the text.
In future research, context-specific approaches based on the SI ecosystem framework should be applied to shed light on the intricate interplay between the factors influencing SI and societal transformation. This work not only states the potential of bottom-up SI initiatives to address the gender issues faced by rural women but also lays the foundation for additional research and actionable insights in this critical area of study in and beyond Japan.
This work was supported by the JST SPRING of Kyoto University (JPMJSP2110).
