The Japanese Farm Lobby and Agricultural Policy-Making

THE QUESTION OF ACCESS to the Japanese domestic market for agricultural products has been raised consistently as a trade issue by Japan's major food suppliers, the United States and Australia. While imports of many agricultural products were liberalized in the 1960s and early 1970s, for nearly a decade the Japanese government has resisted all external pressures for abolition of its restrictive import quotas on a selected range of farm commodities, such as beef, dairy products and citrus fruits. Although the trade potential of these items is small relative to Japan's total trade with the U.S. and Australia, they have become symbolic of Japan's unwavering agricultural protectionism. As a focus of periodic dispute, they have also had an undeniably negative impact on Japan's broader economic relationship with both countries. It is widely recognised that, in matters of agricultural trade and farm policy, the Japanese government is influenced more strongly by political factors than by considerations of economic efficiency or comparative advantage. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is commonly portrayed as captive of domestic farming interests and bound to the dictates of an electoral strategy aimed at preserving a voting base in rural areas. This paper examines more detailed aspects of the exercise of agrarian power in Japan with particular emphasis on its organizational basis and current impact on policy outcomes.