The global undernourished population has been increasing since 2018, and the international community is concerned that the global food security situation will further deteriorate due to emerging risk and uncertainty factors in food security, such as geopolitical risks, long-term climate change and others. In response to the emerging and complicated risk and uncertainty factors, agricultural economics requires the conduct of more active joint research projects with other research fields to solve the problems via multidisciplinary research analysis. In this process, agricultural economics will play an important actor as a cross-academic policy coordinator to identify and address these factors and to conduct policy recommendations and implications.

In recent years, research utilizing experimental methods has developed in the field of international development studies. The aim of this paper is to examine the status of the use of experimental research in agricultural economics research targeting domestic agriculture in comparison with the international development field and to examine the possibility of applying experiments to domestic research. To this end, a literature review is conducted on studies using experimental methods in the fields of development studies and agricultural economics in Japan and abroad. The results of the literature review indicate that the use of RCT experiments is in its budding stage, in research targeting domestic agriculture. One of the measures for the application of RCT experiments is to encourage collaboration between experts in domestic agriculture and researchers who know the experimental methods. This is expected to lead to the acquisition of new knowledge and further development of domestic agricultural economic research.

This article aims to provide guidelines for methodology in positivism-based case studies related to policy research. Firstly, it criticizes policy research rooted in neoclassical economics for its unrealistic assumptions about the scope and objectives of policymakers, advocating for an approach based on public policy studies that endogenizes all aspects of the policy process. Secondly, it analyzes manuscripts published in the Journal of Rural Economics over the past 23 years to elucidate the characteristics and limitations of policy research within this society. Furthermore, it identifies case studies as a suitable research design for policy research based on public policy studies and outlines the conditions for case studies to meet in terms of empirical validity and generalizability. Finally, it offers recommendations to the society and its members regarding the future mission of agricultural economics in the context of policy research.

In evidence-based policy making, evidence is supplied by researchers and consumed by policymakers. To effectively meet the needs of consumers, producers must first understand consumers. Through surveys of policymakers and text analysis of policy documents, we clarify the utilization of research, the demand for research, and awareness of data among government officials in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in Japan.

Agricultural policy research institutes around the world share a common mission: to provide data and analytical results that contribute to policy planning and development. Simultaneously, they are venturing into new research areas such as climate change, biodiversity, nutrition, equity, and digital technology, and disseminating their findings not only to their primary users—the administrative departments—but also to a broader audience. The importance of dialogue between researchers and policymakers for the social implementation of research is undisputed. In this context, policy think tanks can play a significant role in bridging the gap between the two. Policy-oriented experimental research is a crucial area for the future, as it moves away from the myth of infallibility and emphasizes agile policymaking processes.

This article aims to reveal the structure of agricultural policy of Japan and discuss the role of rural surveys as themes of policy studies, adopting “Development Process of Japan’s Agriculture” written by Seiichi Tobata to modern rice policy. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is “Innovator on Institution, Organization and Mobilization”, and the there has become increasing the room provided policy ideas by outside subjects. However, the basic structure of rice policy has not changed yet and still stipulated by the logic of the production adjustment policy from 1960s. The future missions of agricultural economics （especially rural surveys） are to gather onsite ideas for promoting policy changes, and to summarize business statistics dispersed in fields for making them valuable.

Based on the “Strategy for Sustainable Food Systems, MIDORI” formulated in 2021, this paper aims to redefine the missions of agricultural economy/history by surveying various literatures. Since the beginning of agriculture, humans have sought to simplify arable ecosystems by plowing, weeding, and controlling pests and diseases. Its historical origin was to minimize the asymmetry of information on yields between taxpayers and tax collectors. By critically reviewing the modern agricultural methods that minimize biodiversity, the narrative of agricultural history needs to be drastically revised. At the same time as pursuing the optimal share of the social costs of natural farming, agricultural economics must carefully examine the aspects that natural farming suppresses such as gender asymmetry.

Agricultural economics is a rare cross-disciplinary field that can consider the natural and human worlds simultaneously. However, before considering the potential of agricultural economics, we must examine the history of its political efficacy. The first issue is its relationship with colonialism. Japanese agricultural economists were actively involved in the Manchu emigration movement of the 1930s and its theoretical formation. Second, world agricultural economics has actively supported the “Green Revolution.” However, it has also been the subject of criticism for the environmental and social problems it has caused. Based on the above examination, agricultural economics must finally fulfil its “ecological turn” to respond to the current global environmental destruction.

This report examines the cultivation and consumption of flowers and plants in the modern and contemporary period, with a view to their relationship to changes in society and the family. As a result, the following four points became clear. First, a major shift in the cultivation and consumption of flowers and plants occurred in modern cities and their suburban areas, where urbanization and industrialization progressed. Second, it was the agricultural experiment stations, private breeders, and individual gardeners who supported the rise of the floriculture industry in response to this demand. Third, the birth of the modern family encouraged the rise of home gardening. Fourth, after World War II, and especially after the period of rapid economic growth, the floricultural and horticultural industry changed more drastically in both quantity and quality than in the modern era.

In Japan, both research methods and topics in agricultural economics have expanded, making it difficult for outsiders to understand what agricultural economics is and what kind of education is provided. Solving the information asymmetry through information dissemination and standardization is necessary to ensure the educational content of agricultural economics can be understood both within and outside Japan. In the traditional education method, we propose introducing a qualifying examination in Ph.D. programs, a credit transfer system with European and American universities, and the accumulation and disclosure of Japan-specific data such as community farming. This information dissemination will serve as a signal to enhance the international recognition of Japanese agricultural economics. For problem-based education, we propose standardizing the curricula for practical training in the agricultural community, collaborating with agricultural extension services, and developing English textbooks on Japanese agricultural issues.

This paper discusses three topics in terms of statistical literacy in agricultural economics education to contribute to a data-driven society. First, we review the reference standards for statistical education in the adjacent field of economics, and examine the use of statistical methods in the applied field from the viewpoint of mathematical statistics. Second, we summarize the consequences of estimating parameters and standard errors in the simplest statistical model, single regression analysis, with least assumptions as possible. Finally, the paper discusses statistics education at the graduate level overseas, and shows that constructing inter-university education networks as well as improving the mobility of faculty and graduate students play an important role in overcoming the lack of educational resources.