The purpose of this research is to ascertain the overall trends in Japan as regards incorporated non-profit organizations(NPOs) in agricultural and rural domains (hereafter, Agro-NPOs). By analyzing the results of a questionnaire survey sent to 1,159 NPOs, the characteristics of Agro-NPOs related to their utilization form of farmlands and forests were determined. There were 281 (24.2%) valid responses to the questionnaire survey.The analysis results reveal that many Agro-NPOs were engaged in agricultural experience and farmland conservation. In addition, it revealed that it had difficulty in keeping an employment of the staff after finishing the consignment business by governments. About half of them leased farmlands from the owners in a way that did not conform to the conventional farmland system, implying that they could utilize farmlands by establishing relationships based on mutual trust with the owners and local residents. By contrast, the remaining Agro-NPOs successfully leased farmlands in a way that conformed to this system. Therefore, this study reveals that these NPOs, which have recently assumed a corporate form, would steadily increase the utilization of farmland in Japan.
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