Judgement as Non-Farmland involves the designation system of Non-Farmland applied to nonrenewable abandoned farmland (Class B) provided by the Agricultural Committee. The purpose of this study was to clarify the details on how Judgement as Non-Farmland operates at the level of municipal government in the Area of Agricultural Land and why Judgement as Non-Farmland for the area is used by farmland owners. In accordance with the above purpose, we considered the effects of implementing Judgement as Non-Farmland in Area of Agricultural Land on the maintenance and management of farmland. Our investigation revealed that management policy of Judgement as Non-Farmland differs between the national and municipal levels. This difference might arise from the perception of local government in the area that the introduction of Judgement as Non-Farmland may promote the increase of class B farmland as Area of Agricultural Land in their location. Second, we pointed out that some owners have received a Judgement as Non-Farmland designation for their farmland on mountainside slopes and among the mountains in the Area of Agricultural Land due to ⑴ difficulty associated with converting land with low demand for development and ⑵ dues required by the Land Improvement District and the burden imposed by the municipal property tax. Thus, we indicated that implementation of Judgement as Non-Farmland in the Area of Agricultural Land may lead to the following unwanted outcomes : ⑴ deterioration of the Land Improvement District, ⑵ detrimental effects on surrounding farmland, and ⑶ difficulties associated with consolidation.
