Coypu farming and post-WWII national policy of Japan: historical details rediscovered

Abstract

The original spread of coypu, Myocastor coypus, in Japan has usually been discussed in the context of military fur use during World War II. The escape and spread of the species is popularly thought to have originated from the destruction of militarism in the country.

In this paper, we attempted to reveal the details and circumstances of the second coypu breeding boom after WWII based on the primary resources collected by Dr. Kyoji Kondo and other documents and literature. In the latter half of the 1940’s shortly after the war, a food production stabilization five-year plan resulting in the promotion of livestock raising, was formulated in answer to the national voice for the increase of food protein production. The second coypu breeding boom resulted as a part of this plan.

The starting point of the second coypu breeding boom was the proposal by Drs. Hidemichi Oka and Haruo Takashima, who advocated the effective use of coypu raised for meat. Coypu farming was adopted as the first choice of relief against severe famine because of how easily the animals can be raised.

In short, the second culture boom of coypu in Japan, which is the greatest cause of its naturalization in Japan, originated from the farming of this species as a national policy, part of the economic revival action plan after WWII.