The environmental framework of rural studies, which was once proposed by the author, is further discussed. The environment for a human being consists of nature, culture and climate. A human being reacts against the environment in three modes : receives (internalizes and adopts) from nature, responds (adapts and develops) against climate and communicates in cultural and social settings. My researches on Japanese rural community (mura) , upon environmental framework, are focused around the cultural and social change. Contemporary Japanese rural community should have changed from such typical image of mura as observed through Meiji to Showa periods. Changing perspectives on farm land is one example. The direction of drastic change from now will be studied paying special attention to technological innovation in farming systems and information systems.

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　　　This study discusses various survival strategies adopted by a village in a newly reclaimed rice field area of Tsugaru in northern Japan, where the farmers have long suffered from crop failure and famine. The way social relationships between individuals and between groups in the village functioned in various survival strategies are diachronically examined.
　　　A swamp along the lower Iwaki river was developed extensively in the Edo era by the Tsugaru-han (the feudal clan) to make new rice fields. Because of low productivity and unstable harvest in the newly reclaimed rice fields, Shinden-byakusho, the immigrant farmers who settled in the region,had to support themselves by working away from home. Such subsistence can be named as “sally type” or “base type”. Even such lifeway was, however, destroyed by frequent crop failure and famine. After each famine, new villages were reestablished by new immigrant farmers.
　　　With this historical background, the social relationships between villagers are voluntary and flexible. They are an accumulation of lateral social connections, rather than a stratified vertical relationship. Such social groups have supported the “sally” or “base” type life of the rural society, which relies on one-crop agriculture and cash income by labor away from the village. These groups function in adjusting the social relationships in the village, while their flexible nature allow people to escape the village when necessary.

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　　　The Establishment Act of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan of 1949 almost excluded rural issues as the role of it, but actually the Ministry performs a lot of policies concerning rural society nowadays. The aim of this article is to clarify the process that the ministry has gradually put importance on rural issues through analyzing governmental white papers since 1961. In analyzing white papers' descriptions, I refer to five wellknown eras of Japanese agricultural policy after 1961.
　　　There were three major turning points which occurred on the points of new era starting. On the 1st phase to 2nd (1970), the amount of description on rural societies suddenly increased in white papers and reformative principle for rural societies changed to the conservative principle at the time.
　　　On the 2nd phase to 3rd (1977), white papers began to introduce a reason out of the Establishment Act in order to authorize its intervention in rural policy. The reason was taken from The Third National Development Plan, which was determined on the assumption that all of the authorities concerned accepted it but never had higher legal status than the Establishment Act.
　　　On the 3rd phase to 4th (1986), reformative principle appeared again on the text of white papers. While at the same time, community function of making consensus was stressed in the same text. Such kind of contradiction continued in the next phase starting from 1992.

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　　　This paper intends to survey governmental measures for protection of agriculture in the mountain area, one of the most important task for Japanese agricultural policy after GATT Uruguay Round, focusing especially on Bavaria, Germany.
　　　Since 1975 Germany, as other member countries of EC, has introduced the policy for Less-favored Area(LFA) in order to maintain a minimum level of population and to conserve the countryside. LFA in Germany consists of three categories, at first Mountain Area with high altitude and slope, secondly Less-favored Agricultural Area characterized by land infertility and depopulation, thirdly Small Area with specific handicap for environmental protection. Today the percent of LFA to the total utilized agricultural area is over 50％ and that of Mountain Area is only 2％.
　　　In the case of Bavaria, 60％ to the total utilized agricultural area is LFA, which includes 6.6％ Mountain Area. There are two measures for the income compensation of farmers, LFA policy and the state original program for conserving cultivated landscape (Kulturlandschaftsprogramm: KULAP), both make farmers in Mountain Area get highest income compensation and continue farming. In the case of farmers with alpine pasture in Oberbayern, 46％ to the total farm income is covered with income compensation, 20％ is out of light business such as rural tourism and forestry.
　　　If we are willing to conserve cultivated landscape in Japanese mountain area, how to encourage farming, forestry and light business should be considered as in Mountain Area in European countries.

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　　　The aim of this paper is to estimate the function of rural communities to reduce the crime rate in Japan. I estimated simultaneous equations models which consist of the crime supply function, the crime clearance function , and the police demand function. Through the estimation of the model, I found followings.
　　　First, in the rural area, the crime rate is significantly lower than that in the urban area. Second, in the rural area, the arrest rate is higher than that in the urban area. Third, in the rural area, the police expenditure per capita is lower than that in the urban area.

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『日本家族の類型化と地域差』において校正ミスがありました。

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