The Research On Japanese Farmers Benefit Growth And Decline Of Agriculture

After World War II, Japan achieved rapid industrial growth. In the process of rapidindustrialization, the income gap between farmers and urban workers faded away after abrief expanding. By the mid-1970s, farmers’ income and consumption levels in Japan hascaught up with and even more than the urban residents and farmers groups fully sharedthe fruits of economic growth. However, almost overlap with the period of relativeincome levels of farmers reversal, Japan’s agriculture rapid decline in the economicgrowth stage, there has been inadequate agricultural production structure adjustment,high production costs and other issues. These industrial quality level issues is alsoreflected in the agriculture industry functional level, likely showed food self-sufficiencyrate has continued to decline, agricultural diversity increasingly difficult to maintain andother serious phenomenon.A question is whether the rapid economic growth driven by industrialization is theforce to promote deviating of the interests of farmers and agricultural development? Inorder to confirm this conjecture, from the perspective of income gap change betweendepartments of workers and peasants the paper build a model, and given the twodepartments different qualities of increasing returns to scale and decreasing returns. Theresults of the empirical theory shows that in the process of continuous inflow of surplusagricultural labor force in the industrial sector, the income gap between workers andpeasants are still likely to continue to expand at a period of time, and this possibility hasa negative correlation with agricultural output proportion, has a positive correlationwith the degree of increasing returns to scale industries, population density, proportionof agricultural population in the initial period.The actual situation in Japan is relatively easy to meet the above conditions: highspeed industrial growth in postwar Japan, Agricultural output value proportion dropsrapidly, prices for agricultural products is restricted by the elastic; while Japanindustrialized extremely successful, the characteristic of increasing returns is obvious,the postwar large-scale population flow also expand the proportion of agriculturalpopulation in the countryside. Under the premise of the widening income gap, the paper further analyzed the farmers concurrent business behavior and the government’sagricultural protection behavior (response to the growing income gap betweendepartments), based on this proposed the mechanism about the different effect on thehigh-speed industrialization mechanism for farmers and agricultural. In accordance withthe framework the paper research the facts that the rapid growth of farmers’ income andagriculture gradually recession in the process of high-speed Japan industrialization, theconclusion is consistent with conjecture。In conclusion, the core idea is that in the industrialization process of countries orregions, department of workers and peasants income gap is likely to continue to expand,which under certain conditions can make the farmers’ income diversified (off-farm) andmake the government to provide agricultural protection(agricultural price supports, etc.);Concurrent-business farmers and agricultural prices support will raise the income level offarmers, but also restrict the adjustment of agricultural production structure, restrain theexpansion of agriculture. In the high-speed economic growth and labor costs rise fasterphase, the small scale of agricultural production will directly lead to the high cost ofagricultural products and low international competitiveness, in the pressure of openingdomestic agricultural products market, the existence and development of agriculture willbe an issue.This paper has eight chapters. Chapter1is the introduction. This chapter putsforward the problem of diverging different paths on the agricultural development and theinterests of farmers in the period of industrialization process of Japan’s post-war, andinterprets the meaning of research、research ideas and thesis structure, makes thecommitment based on the analysis of the related papers.Chapter2is the construction of a theoretical model. in the perspective of the changeof the income gap of workers and peasants it builds the mathematical model, On thepremise of increasing returns to scale in the industry and decreasing returns to scale inagricultural, reveals the several paths about the evolution of the income gap betweenworkers and peasants could follow.And discussed in the case of a gradual increase inwage rates between workers and peasants, the inevitability of concurrent-businessfarmers and agricultural protection policy.In addition, discusses the effects of whetherthe influence about multiple exogenous variables to the convergence condition of the workers and peasants income gap.Chapter3is the analysis of the post-war Japanese agricultural development initialconditions. This chapter centers on the exogenous variables of the theoretical model inchapter2, carries on a qualitative analysis about the proportion of agriculturalpopulation、population density and the relative prices of agricultural products and so on,provides the initial static explanation for the reason of the Japanese gradually wideningincome gap of workers and peasants and analyzes disproportionate facts on the politicalstatus and economic status, and do some fundamental work for chapter6.Chapter4analyzes the main problems existing in Japan agriculture. This chapteruses agricultural structure ineffective adjustment as the main line, analyses the dialecticalrelationship on the Japanese agricultural production scale is too small、 farmers’concurrent business、rural ageing,and proposes the cumulative effect of the causal loopmechanism about all phenomenon.Chapter5based on actual change trend in the process of high-speed industrializationdepartment of workers and peasants income gap、in the era of the widening income gapof farmers’ concurrent business and highly agricultural protection policy confirmed thetheoretical model of chapter2,taking farmers’ concurrent business Concurrent-businessand agriculture protection for motivation, promoting a mechanism of Industrialization toseprate farmers’ interests farmers and agricultural development， and with themechanism as the basic framework, explains the in the process of rapid Japanese industryeconomic growth, the above motivations how to adjust the interests of famers and theagriculture development different paths by restraining the main body of agriculturestructure,namely the standard of peasants’ income and consumption level gradually catchup with and surpass the urban residents, and agricultural industry quality is difficult toimprove so that in the aspect of industrial functions it appeares serious problems.Chapter6in the perspective of Japan’s game between the relevant interest groups,explains the reason why Japan provides agricultural protection policy, and according tothe results of each stage of the game analysis it explains the trend in the evolution ofthe agricultural protection policy. Based on the big background of the development ofJapan’s economic transformation, forecasts the future relative power change ofagricultural interest groups, Japanese agriculture policy adjustment and the direction of the agricultural reform. The later part of this chapter is for chapter7,explains somereasons for the problems of the agriculture in the process of regional economicintegration.Chapter7analyzes the fact that due to the weak nature of agriculture, leaving Japanin a dilemma in the process of regional economic integration, namely that due to theinterests of farmers and agricultural separation makes it difficult for exist Japaneseagriculture in the more completely open mode. This chapter illustrates the seriousconsequences on the diplomatic level by the facts that Japan is difficult to join EPA andTPP.Chapter8is about the enlightenment from Japanese agriculture problems andcountermeasures for our country. Based on the reasons and consequences of thedifferentiation of Japanese agriculture and farms,puts forward of the dilemma ofagricultrue policy、the agruculture crisis and so on,and these problems may also be ourproblems in the future;and from the point of expanding the production scale, promotingagricultural structure adjustment,it puts forward relevant policy suggestions.