抄録
Abandoned cultivated land area has been increasing rapidly. It has reached almost 400,000 hectares in 2010. The government has established Regional Government Supported Institutions for Farmland Consolidation in order to decrease abandoned cultivated land. Also, Agricultural Land Act has been revised in 2013. From then on, when Agricultural Committee patrol rural area and find a piece of abandoned cultivated land, they propose a plan to rent the land to a regional government supported institution so that a business farmer can use it. The government is promoting this new undertaking strongly, but no one can foresee the result. The writer has researched abandoned cultivated land and activities of Agricultural Committee which operate Agricultural Land Act and manage cultivated land in rural areas for several years. It seems that Agricultural Committee are hesitating to apply the articles for abandoned cultivated land to the owner. Because they are afraid of absoluteness of the ownership. Article 206 of Civil Code says that an owner has the rights to freely use, obtain profit from and dispose of the Thing owned, subject to the restriction prescribed by laws and regulations. They think the word, ‘freely’ to be superior to any other words. So they hesitate to apply the articles for abandoned cultivated land. In this paper, the writer suggests plans to promote recovery of abandoned cultivated lands, or ideas about revising the articles regarding ownership of land. For example, people of a rural community may improve the situation by their activities if they can get enough subsidies to revive the utility of cultivated land from the government. Abandoned cultivated land area may be reduced if the articles of ownership of land are revised in order to change the people’s consciousness of it.
