抄録
Japan is facing an extremely low birthrate and aging population, which is giving rise to a variety of issues. The population in rural areas is particularly declining rapidly, and Japan’s primary industries of agriculture, fishing, and forestry are in decline as a result. In this study, an overview of the current state of agriculture is described and the connected people (kankei-jinko in Japanese) are also described. And, the impact of the increase in foreign visitors to Japan is discussed. The connected people means a kind of hometown resident (furusato-jumin in Japanese) system. As Japan aims to continuously increase the number of foreign visitors, it is essential that it provides food that they find satisfying. Food and beverage expenses account for approximately 21 % of travel consumption. This paper describes the trends in foreign visitors to Japan and the current state of agriculture in Japan. Japan’s food self-sufficiency rate is declining. The reasons for this include not only a decrease in the number of people working in agriculture but also the aging population. Agricultural workers have long and tough working hours. Agricultural mechanization has hardly progressed, and delays in the introduction of smart agriculture have been pointed out. The Engel coefficient is also the highest among the G7 countries. The coefficient is strongly dependent on the food self-sufficiency rate and aging rate. This study discusses the current situation in Japan, which is facing an aging society, and the importance of agriculture in terms of policies to attract an increasing number of foreign visitors to Japan.
