This paper aimed at quantifying the actual number of vacant houses and their location characteristics in mountain villages. A survey was conducted in a community in Nagawa Town, Nagano Prefecture, where the population has been declining. There is common assumption that the rate of vacant houses, i.e., whether or not to leave a community, is influenced by the socioeconomic location of the community, such as employment opportunities and convenience of living. This paper hypothesized that whether people continue coming and going after leaving a community may be influenced by factors separate from convenience, such as attachment to the community. The result showed that convenience had a significant impact on the percentage of vacant houses, but the inconvenient location was not a major disincentive to “continuing to be involved” in the community.

This research aims to show the effect of using the system of community-reactivating cooperators in starting a farming business. The method used is an interview survey of two cases that entered agriculture by using this system in Ibaraki prefecture. One was thinking about farming, the other was not originally thinking about it. We identified three positive effects: (1) The system attracts the latter to agriculture. The latter decided to start a business in agriculture through the activities. This result suggests that using the system may lead to expanding the possibility of securing human resources in agriculture. (2) The people can prepare for entering agriculture based on their idea because they can freely decide their activities. Also, the people were able to build relationships with people in other industries as well as agriculture and get trust through the activities. (3) The people can prepare to start farming by their own initiative. The reason is that their position is equivalent to civil servant, so they are not employed by active farmers. Their position led them to smooth networking with active farmers and deciding their management style themselves.

In this study, 108 female farmers engaged in agriculture in Mie Prefecture were surveyed by questionnaire to determine the current status of physical problems particular to women and the current status of support at their workplaces. The results showed that 78.3% experienced painful feelings during work due to menstrual symptoms, and 64.6% experienced painful feelings during work due to menopausal disorders. The results also indicated that the nature of health problems varied according to life stage. Of those who experienced painful experiences, approximately 60% indicated that they did not receive support from their families or workplaces. Of those who did receive support, the most common type of support was taking time off. Based on these results, we examined the direction of health support for female agricultural workers for the future.

The purpose of this study is to clarify marketing practices of e-retailers selling regional products, including Furusato Nouzei Donation based in Akita Prefecture. The conclusion is as follows: 1) E-retailers that are based in the region have mainstay products that major e-commerce companies do not handle and have a product policy that emphasizes quality. 2) E-retailers build a collection and shipment system for long time small-scale suppliers that can be handled without the internet and coordinate communication between consumers and manufacturers for products whose supply is unstable and has short expiration dates. 3)E-retailers use ICT to improve sales promotion and operational efficiency through systemization and marketing.

This paper aims to examine the development of urban agriculture, assess its current status and challenges, and explore its potential. Since the mid-1990s, expectations for urban agriculture have grown, with urban planning increasingly integrating agriculture with a focus on local production for local consumption and citizen participation. Going forward, urban planning may need to expand and adapt, leveraging the proximity to consumers.

With this in mind, this paper presents three key issues: agricultural use, civic use, and welfare use of urban farmland. Specifically, agricultural use and civic use are qualitatively enhanced, while welfare use is introduced as a new role for urban agriculture. These aspects are mutually complementary and can contribute to the preservation of urban farmland and the creation of sustainable cities.

Urban agriculture is not merely a local trend seen only in cities, but a universal practice that offers important suggestions for the future of farming villages and Japanese agriculture. We look forward to a broader debate on the social development of urban agriculture.

Agriculture requires a certain amount of space and land. While Funabashi City is an urban agricultural area, it has designated agricultural zones rather than relying on isolated, individual farming efforts. Therefore, it is essential to understand the characteristics of each region, identify the challenges they will face in the next era, and work towards resolving these issues.