Since the enactment of the “New Basic Agricultural Law,” Japan's agricultural structure has entered a new phase, beginning with the 2010 Agricultural Census. The establishment of numerous community-based group farming, spurred by the “Farming Income Stabilization Measures,” led to a rapid increase in organized management entities in the agricultural census. This has accelerated the consolidation of paddy fields by large-scale agricultural management entities. This trend was particularly pronounced in the Tohoku and Northern Kyushu regions and at the prefectural level in Saga Prefecture. Since 2015, the pace of farmland concentration by organized management entities has slowed, but the number of regions in which large-scale farmers are making great strides as recipients of farmland has increased. It became clear that farmland concentration toward large-scale agricultural management entities progressed more in areas with higher rates of decline in the number of commercial farm households, and that consolidation accelerated in areas with higher levels of farmland concentration. In recent years, there has been a tendency for regions to be divided into those where farmland is concentrated among large-scale agricultural management entities and those where there are no farmers, and the farmland area has rapidly decreased. Northern Kyushu falls into the former category, but the 2020 Agricultural Census also shows signs of the stagnating liquidity of paddy fields.

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We analyzed regional agriculture trends including prospective farm formation after community farming group integration, through a case study in Shiroishi Town, Saga Prefecture.

The following points were clarified: First, members aspiring to individual operations were steadily leaving reorganized community farming corporations, decreasing the number of members and the total area cultivated by the corporations. The shrinking presence of community farming corporations corresponds with the expanding presence of individual farmers in regional agriculture. A common challenge for both groups is preserving agricultural use of farmland that aging farmers will release in the future. Community-farming corporations and individual farmers operating within the same district are required to advance the intensive use of farmland with a shared future vision for regional agriculture.

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This study analyzes the development and emerging challenges of Kojika Farm, a community-based agricultural producers’ cooperative corporation in Kanzaki City, Saga Prefecture. Originating from a machinery-sharing group formed in 2001, the organization adopted pooled accounting early and incorporated in 2013 as the first entity of its kind in the prefecture. Through mechanization, field consolidation, and the expansion of open-field vegetable production and a women-led processing division, Kojika Farm has strengthened its management base and achieved stable financial performance. A phased development plan—foundation, expansion, consolidation, and stabilization—has guided its organizational growth. However, the aging of members and the limited availability of motivated young successors present significant challenges for business continuity. Ensuring competitive employment conditions, cultivating managerial talent, and aligning with regional agricultural planning are essential for sustainable development. The case offers broader insights into the long-term viability of community-based farming organizations in Japan.

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This study analyzes the development and management challenges of a large-scale individual farming enterprise through a case study of Iwaishi Nosan Co., Ltd. in Saga Prefecture, Japan. The farm has expanded to 45 ha by combining owned and leased land, supported by the adoption of GNSS-RTK guidance systems that significantly improved labor efficiency and reduced peak-season bottlenecks. Following incorporation in 2006, the introduction of hired labor enabled diversification into winter vegetable production and the establishment of improved working conditions, including shorter standard hours and support for skill acquisition. The study also examines future succession planning, the goal of expanding to 100 ha, and the need for strategic investment in machinery and storage facilities. At the regional level, the case highlights practical issues in land-use planning, field consolidation, and coordination among farmers and community-based organizations. The findings illustrate both the potential and constraints of large-scale individual farms in sustaining growth.

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Japan has seen a growing trend toward establishing regional brands that promote both tourism and local products. Studies have distinguished between two types of regional brands: regional product brands and regional spatial brands. These studies suggest that creating a mutual enhancement loop between the two may be an effective strategy. However, such a relationship remains hypothetical. Therefore, this study explores the potential interrelationship between regional product brands and regional spatial brands through in-depth interviews with 10 consumers of the Itoshima City brand in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Itoshima City, known for its agricultural products, actively promotes both types of regional brands. This study applied Keller’s (2008) Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) pyramid model to analyze the perceptions of the two brand types and used the laddering method to understand their interconnections. Our analysis was unable to identify a mutual enhancement loop in our respondents’ evaluations of regional product brands and regional spatial brands, which contradicts the hypothesis. However, we found that the evaluation of regional products was influenced by the perception of the region’s space, and vice versa.

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[in Japanese]

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We analyzed the market power of sellers in the milk wholesale and retail markets using econometric methods and consider the power balance between buyers and sellers in the milk food system. The key findings of the analysis are as follows: First, it is difficult to determine whether dairy manufacturers possess seller market power over retailers in the milk wholesale market. Second, determining whether retailers hold seller market power over consumers in the milk retail market is also difficult. Third, the milk food system is structured such that only retailers possess buyer market power in the wholesale market. Thus, to easily pass on rising dairy production costs to the selling price of raw milk, it is important to address the buyer market power of retailers in the milk wholesale market.

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This study analyzes the potential for introducing integrated palletization in vegetable and fruit logistics in response to the 2024 logistics issue and tightening of regulations on truck drivers’ maximum working hours. As palletization is expected to improve handling efficiency during produce transportation, negotiations between producers and transport companies regarding cost sharing and benefit allocation are crucial. Using an extensiveform game and a Nash bargaining solution, this study models the negotiation structure for two scenarios: the introduction of rental pallets and facility development involving palletizer installation. The study shows that adopting rental pallets reduces freight charges when the resulting transportation cost savings outweigh rental fees. However, because miscellaneous wooden pallets are treated as quasi-public goods, this condition is rarely met. Even so, projected supply shortages and increased demand for wooden pallets, combined with anticipated gains in logistics efficiency from rental plastic pallets, may create a more favorable environment for their adoption. Further efficiency improvements would require producers' groups to make facility investments such as palletizers. However, the results indicate that under current trade relationships, such investments are unlikely to advance due to hold-ups in freight rate negotiations, which turn producer-side investments into sunk costs. Overcoming these challenges requires expanding the negotiation framework to include wholesale and government actors. Moreover, institutional support and well-designed incentives are key to promoting the adoption of integrated palletization in fresh produce supply chains.

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[in Japanese]

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Since China’s reform and opening-up, farmland fragmentation and labor shortages driven by urbanization have hindered agricultural efficiency. Small-scale farms account for about 70% of total holdings. In response, the government has promoted the development of a mechanization service market, resulting in a structure where large- and small-scale contractors coexist. In this market, the efficiency of large contractors is widely emphasized, while debates persist over the viability of small contractors. Moreover, small farmers find it difficult to access large-scale services, creating structural mismatches between supply and demand. Against this backdrop, village-level collective cooperatives have emerged to consolidate farmland and share machinery, potentially providing mechanization services and coordinating transactions with external contractors. However, their competitive advantage and position within the market remain unclear. This study addresses these issues by (1) analyzing the functions of village-level collective cooperatives in the mechanization service market through case studies and (2) comparing the cost structures of different contractor types to reassess the future market configurations. To conduct this analysis, primary data was collected through fieldwork in Anyang County, Henan Province. The analysis shows that large contractors primarily serve large farms, while small contractors, including village-level collective cooperatives, supplement residual demand. Village-level collective cooperatives also play a role in land consolidation and the reuse of abandoned land, contributing to local land-use adjustments. A cost analysis shows that large contractors enjoy cost advantages for large farms, whereas for small farms, village-level collective cooperatives and other small contractors maintain a certain level of competitiveness. Overall, large contractors are expected to expand their market share, while village-level collective cooperatives will likely evolve into intermediary organizations that coordinate efficient outsourcing between large contractors and small-scale farms.

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