Analysis of Management Behavior and Productivity of Agricultural Corporations in Japan: Through Comparison with the US and China

Research Overview

The decline in the number of agricultural workers due to the declining birthrate and aging population has become a serious problem in Japan’s agricultural production. According to the Agriculture and Forestry Census, the total number of farm households in Japan decreased from 4.89 million in 1976 to 1.74 million in 2020, and the average age of farmers reached 62.3 years old. As the domestic consumption market shrunk, Japan’s total agricultural output has also continued to decline since the 1990s, finally bottoming out in the mid-2010s. The government is actively fostering and supporting agricultural corporations to address these issues and revitalize Japan’s agriculture. The total number of agricultural corporations in Japan increased from 14,000 in 2005 to 32,000 in 2021. Considering this, analyzing the management behavior and productivity of farm corporations is of great significance. This project targets Japanese agricultural corporations and analyzes the following four issues: ① Measure and evaluate the comparative production efficiency of agricultural corporations by comparing their agricultural productivity, considering the characteristics of agricultural corporations and traditional farm management. ② Measure and evaluate the relative market competitiveness of agricultural corporations for traditional farmers concerning raw material markets and agricultural product markets. ③ Examine the export competitiveness of agricultural corporations, using the example of Niigata Prefecture, one of Japan’s major agricultural regions, while considering the support measures based on Japan’s export promotion strategy of agricultural products as well as the soaring food and product prices. ④ Seek general conclusions regarding farm management and agricultural corporation management while comparing and analyzing the agricultural corporations of Japan, the United States, and China.