In expectation of growing cheese consumption, natural cheese production is being increased to reduce surplus milk and create high added value in raw milk. Other studies found positive trends in cheese consumption. However, those studies neither clarified recent trends, nor distinguished natural cheese from processed cheese.
The purpose of this paper is to discuss the structure of natural cheese consumption, focusing on habit formation. We test structural changes in cheese demand using dynamic panel analysis based on family income and expenditure survey data (by City with Prefectural Government), and then estimate habit formation in natural cheese demand after structural change using a dynamic LA/AIDS model based on aggregated POS data.
The findings are summarized as follows. First, a gradual structural change is found in cheese demand from 1988 to 1999, and a habit formation effect in cheese demand gradually decreased. Second, based on analysis of natural cheese demand after structural change, a habit formation effect in high priced natural cheese (e.g., Camembert, Gouda) is greater than those of the other kinds of natural cheese and processed cheese. Third, high priced natural cheese is more price inelastic and expenditure elastic than the others.
In the mature stage of cheese demand, such a natural cheese market is expected to grow and to be suitable for value added products.

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Rice farmers in Japan are becoming increasingly interested in direct seeding technology as a way to save labor spent on seed raising and transplanting. This article explores the technology adoption mechanisms of direct seeding, as well as the effects of technology adoption on mixed farming, and farm scale.
In estimating adoption mechanisms, attention was paid to both the farm's efficiency, measured by frontier cost function, and to the joint decisions relating to direct seeding and outsourcing. Multinomial probit estimates showed that a farm's efficiency and scale had significant and enormous impacts on the adoption decision, and that direct seeding adopters and outsourcing adopters had contrasting farm characteristics. These empirical results imply that demand for direct seeding must grow continuously if the increasing trend in farm size continues, that a farmer's ability or skill is the key to adoption, and that targeting must be effective when conducting technical guidance and consultation for direct seeding.
Among the effects of direct seeding, little is known about how farmers utilize their saved time in further productive activities such as mixed farming or expanding the size of the farm. However, these effects were not found clearly from parametric models and propensity score matching. This result implies the need for further investigation on the way to utilize saved labor to fully realize the potential gain of direct seeding technology.

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This paper reviews theories, current conditions, and barriers to liquidization and concentration of farmland in Japan and discusses perspectives on further research. We make special effort in introducing theoretical approach to understand institutional barriers to farmland liquidization, such as the farmland law system, compensation for tenants' investment, farmland transaction costs, and the high potential for farmland conversion. Since many of the studies in Japan on this topic are anecdotal or based on case studies, econometric studies from overseas that use detailed data are selectively reviewed for reference. Future studies should consider linkage and complementarities between anecdotal or case studies and quantitative approaches. Quantitative studies that test various hypotheses in debate are required. Use of farm or region level panel data should be useful and effective to take into consideration for identification of causality. Rigorous policy evaluations are also necessary for assessing and improving policies that promote structural adjustment.

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