what is japan’s agriculture

What are Japans chief agricultural products?

 · Domestic crop production, with a traditional focus on rice, accounts for the highest output within the agricultural farming sector, while livestock farming only plays a minor role in Japan. Paddy…

What are Japan’s main crops or National Foods?

Crops included rice, millet, wheat, barley, soybeans, adzuki beans, hops, bottle gourds, peaches, and persimmons. The Yayoi transformation expanded toward the northeast, and by 2100 bp all but Hokkaido, the northernmost prefecture, was part of the Yayoi world.

What is the percentage of agriculture land in Japan?

Japan’s most important agricultural product, rice, is grown in all regions of the country. In addition, high-quality Japanese fruits and meats have been gaining international fame. There are many agriculture-related tourism sites and activities available to tourists, including some farms and various hands-on activities, such as fruit picking. Below are some of the farms and …

Is Japan industrialized or agricultural?

Tomatoes are Japan’s second-largest agricultural crop after rice on a monetary basis. Moreover, since they are already a very popular and familiar food …

Is Japan an agricultural country?

DESPITE her recent remarkable progress in industry and commerce, Japan is still predominantly an agricultural country. The major part of her national net production is drawn from agriculture, and more than one-half of her population is sustained by tillage of the land.

What is the role of agriculture in Japan?

Agriculture, farming, and fishing (Japanese: 農林水産, nōrinsuisan) form the primary sector of industry of the Japanese economy together with the Japanese mining industry, but together they account for only 1.3% of gross national product.

What is the main agricultural crops of Japan?

CROP DIVERSIFICATION IN JAPAN – Masa Iwanaga*CropCultivated Area (ha)Value (× 100 million Yen)1. Paddy Rice1,953,00027,0942. Wheat157,5008563. Potato103,0001,3224. Soybean83,20037726 more rows

Is farming big in Japan?

The Japanese agricultural sector accounts for around one percent of the country’s GDP. Even though only about 20 percent of the land area of the island nation is suitable for cultivation, it is intensively farmed, with rice paddies and fields occupying most of the countryside.

What is Japan known for?

Japan is famous for natural sights like cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji, cutting-edge technology like Japanese cars and bullet trains, wacky inventions like karaoke and vending machines, cultural values like politeness and punctuality, popular anime and manga, and mouth-watering food like ramen and sushi.

What does Japan produce?

Japan’s major export industries include automobiles, consumer electronics (see Electronics industry in Japan), computers, semiconductors, copper, iron and steel and additional key industries in Japan’s economy are petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, bioindustry, shipbuilding, aerospace, textiles, and processed foods.

Why is farming difficult in Japan?

Here lies the primary difficulty confronting Japanese agriculture and the basic reason for: (1 ) the low food supplying capacity of Japan; (2) the weak international com- petitive capacity of Japanese agriculture; and (3) the low level of in- come and living standards of Japanese farm people. 143 Page 4 Japanese …

How much of Japan’s land is agricultural?

Agricultural land (% of land area) in Japan was reported at 12.13 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

Is agriculture in demand in Japan?

Yet, despite all its actual and potential benefits, agriculture in Japanese cities is under threat. In just the past decade, agricultural land use has diminished by over 40% because of urbanization-related impacts, even though the population of the country has remained stable.

What is the future of agriculture in Japan?

According to the Yano Research Institute, the market for intelligent agriculture in Japan is expected to almost triple from a sales revenue of JPY 15.87 billion in 2019 to a projected JPY 44.28 billion in 2025.

How much of Japan’s land is agricultural?

Agricultural land (% of land area) in Japan was reported at 12.13 % in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources.

Is Japan agriculturally self sufficient?

The food self-sufficiency rate in Japan fell to 37% in 2020, equaling its lowest ever rate. Japan’s calorie-based food self-sufficiency rate in 2020 fell by one point from the previous year to 37%, according to a Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries’ report.

Why is the agricultural sector declining in Japan?

One determining factor in the decline of the agricultural sector is the shortage of farmland in Japan, with more and more land being used for housing. Japanese farmland is highly cultivated.

What is the main form of rice cultivation in Japan?

Domestic crop production, with a traditional focus on rice, accounts for the highest output within the agricultural farming sector. In Japan, paddy fields are the main form of rice cultivation. Due to a shortage of plain farmland, farmers utilize terraced paddies built …

Why are rice paddies important to Japan?

Rice paddies are vital to Japan’s biodiversity, since they serve as ecosystems and water reservoirs, protecting wildlife population and preventing flooding. The Japanese archipelago consists of highly forested and mountainous islands, with the habitable zones centered around coastal areas.

What are the main industries in Japan?

Agriculture, forestry, and fishing were integral parts of the Japanese economy well into the first half of the twentieth century. The agricultural sector continued to function as the largest employer during the post-World War II years, introducing new technologies, such as mechanized farming, mass crop production, and the usage of chemical fertilizers. In present-day Japan however, the number of commercial farm households and individuals working within the agricultural industry is rapidly declining. One determining factor in the decline of the agricultural sector is the shortage of farmland in Japan, with more and more land being used for housing.

What is the mechanism used to promote rural areas?

A popular mechanism used to promote rural areas is the so-called agritourism. Through tour programs, such as farm stays, visitors get the chance to experience a variety of agricultural activities, from picking fruits and harvesting tea leaves, to making butter and feeding animals.

Is Japan vulnerable to natural disasters?

While Japan is blessed with a rich fauna and flora, it is also uniquely vulnerable to the elements. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, typhoons, or flooding through heavy rainfall regularly affect the agricultural industry. With the intensifying effects of climate change, the impact on the primary sector through natural catastrophes will likely worsen in the future.

Is Japan a forest?

Despite Japan being densely forested , the forestry sector and the lumber industry are not well developed. Forestry in Japan is often run as a side-business of establishments and individuals active in the farming sector .

Where is agriculture in Japan?

Agriculture exists in every part of Japan, but is especially important on the northern island of Hokkaido, which accounts for 10% of national production. Since World War II (1939–45), modern methods, including commercial fertilizers, insecticides, hybrid seeds, and machinery, have been used so effectively that harvests increased substantially …

What is the importance of crop production in Japan?

Crop production is vital to Japan despite limited arable land (13% of the total area) and the highest degree of industrialization in Asia. Steep land (more than 20°) has been terraced for rice and other crops, carrying cultivation in tiny patches far up mountainsides. With the aid of a temperate climate, adequate rainfall, …

Why did Japan overproduce rice?

Overproduction of rice, as a result of overplanting and a shift to other foods by the Japanese people, led the government in 1987 to adopt a policy of decreasing rice planting and increasing the acreage of other farm products.

What was the largest agricultural trade deficit in 1999?

At $32.1 billion, Japan had the largest agricultural trade deficit in the world that year. Almost all soybeans and feedstuffs and most of the nation’s wheat are imported. In 1999, Japan produced 11.5 million tons of rice, the chief crop. In that year, rice accounted for about 93% of all cereal production.

How much of Japan’s land is cultivation?

Only 20% of Japan’s land is suitable for cultivation, and the agricultural economy is highly subsidized. Agriculture, forestry, and fishing dominated the Japanese economy until the 1940s, but thereafter declined into relative unimportance (see Agriculture in the Empire of Japan ). In the late 19th century ( Meiji period ), …

How much did agriculture decrease in Japan in the 1980s?

It was further declined to 23.5% in 1965, 11.9% in 1977, and to 7.2% in 1988. The importance of agriculture in the national economy later continued its rapid decline, with the share of net agricultural production in GNP finally reduced between 1975 and 1989 from 4.1% to 3% In the late 1980s, 85.5% of Japan’s farmers were also engaged in occupations …

What was the average catch in Japan in the 1980s?

After the 1973 energy crisis, deep-sea fishing in Japan declined, with the annual catch in the 1980s averaging 2 million tons. Offshore fisheries accounted for an average of 50% of the nation’s total fish catches in the late 1980s although they experienced repeated ups and downs during that period.

How many fishing ports are there in Japan?

Japan has more than 2,000 fishing ports, including Nagasaki, in southwest Kyūshū; Otaru, Kushiro, and Abashiri in Hokkaidō. Major fishing ports on the Pacific coast of Honshū include, Hachinohe, Kesennuma, and Ishinomaki along the Sanriku coast, as well as Choshi, Yaizu, Shimizu, and Misaki to the east and south of Tokyo.

What happened to Japan’s fishing industry?

The fishing industry of Japan has been heavily hit by the worries of radioactivity contaminated seafood resulting from 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster. Since 2011, Japan has dumped radioactive water of the Fukushima Nuclear Plant into the Pacific .

How much of Japan’s rice was self-sufficient in 1990?

Even a major rice crop failure did not reduce the accumulated stocks by more than 25% of the reserve. In 1990, Japan was 67% self-sufficient in agricultural products and provided for around 30% of its cereal and fodder needs.

What is the forest in Japan?

Two thirds of land of Japan is forest. 40% of the forests in Japan are planted forests, such as cedar and cypress. They are mainly planted after the Pacific War, in attempt to produce construction material, but after Japan had experienced rapid economic growth, they switched construction material from wood to reinforced concrete. Moreover, cheaper import wood became more attractive, compared to domestic wood which is produced in steep mountain and high costs of labour. Nowadays, many planted forests are too dense and need thinning .

When did rice come to Japan?

Chinese crops such as hemp, foxtail and broomcorn millets, and rice were in Japan by 3,000 years ago; at about the same time, earthworks associated with cemeteries began to become common in the north.

What were the crops of the Yayoi?

Crops included rice, millet, wheat, barley, soybeans, adzuki beans, hops, bottle gourds, peaches, and persimmons. The Yayoi transformation expanded toward the northeast, and by 2100 bp all but Hokkaido, the northernmost prefecture, was part of the Yayoi world.

Where did Yayoi come from?

Yayoi crops were not entirely new to northeastern Japan; the region’s oldest directly dated rice, foxtail millet, and broomcorn millet are from Final Jōmon contexts (2900 bp) at the Kazahari site in Aomori prefecture.

What was the name of the varnish tree in Japan?

Lacquer production was under way in northern Japan by 9000 bp, suggesting the so-called varnish tree ( Rhus verniciflua) was being managed.

What was the system of agriculture on the northern frontier?

On the northern frontier, people experimented with paddy agriculture, but any success they met was short-lived, and dry-field production eventually became the system of choice . Rainfall-based agriculture likely included broadcast sowing and the use of wooden spades with iron bits.

How long ago did Japan start?

Japan. In Japan, archaeologists have established a long unbroken sequence of cultures that spans the period from more than 30,000 years ago to the present. Villages were established throughout the Japanese archipelago between 13,000 and 11,000 bp.

Where were wild grains harvested?

At sites such as Usujiri B and Hamanasuno, in southwestern Hokkaido, small wild grains were harvested, as were fleshy fruits and nuts; as a result of human activity, the productivity of fruit- and nut-bearing trees was especially high near Jōmon communities.

Why is urban agriculture important in Japan?

Given the importance of urban agriculture in Japan in extent and production, and given the demographic threats it is currently facing, improving biodiversity and ecosystem services while generating economic opportunities can be a win–win solution .

What is urban farming in Japan?

In Japan, urban farming is both a significant component of the national agricultural sector and an essential ingredient of city space. By creating an integrative policy environment that enables cities to maximize multiple ecological and socio-economic benefits, urban agriculture will make a significant contribution to sustainability and to the well-being of city dwellers — from enhancing local ecosystem services and biodiversity, to reducing urban footprints.

How does urban agriculture help the ecosystem?

Urban agriculture also can contribute to biodiversity and ecosystem services by providing habitats and managing species (e.g. boosting pollination and growing local varieties). Furthermore, it can reduce food miles (the distance that food must be transported) and even provide bio-energy resources (e.g., from managed forests).

What are the two most popular systems of citizens’ involvement in urban agriculture in Japan?

The systems Taiken Nouen, by which people participate in different activities with actual farmers, and Shimin Nouen, or allotment gardens, are the two most popular systems of citizens’ involvement in urban agriculture in Japan.

What is Satoyama in Japan?

Especially relevant for Japan are the concepts of satoyama (and satoumi ), which refer to “dynamic mosaics of managed socio-ecological systems that produce a bundle of ecosystem services for human well-being”. Although originating in the rural context, both concepts offer valuable lessons for cities.

What is the role of urban agriculture?

The MAFF identifies the following roles of urban agriculture: Source of fresh and safe products, including organic and low-chemical crops, that are increasingly demanded by urban consumers. These can be locally produced and consumed based on relationships of trust between farmers and city dwellers.

How could Japan play a leading role in urban agriculture?

By linking its technological potential to the principles of sustainable agriculture rooted on the traditional farming and food cultures, Japan could play a leading role in urban agricultural innovation, inspiring other countries to follow suit.

What is the most important agricultural product in Japan?

Japan’s most important agricultural product, rice, is grown in all regions of the country. In addition, high-quality Japanese fruits and meats have been gaining international fame. There are many agriculture-related tourism sites and activities available to tourists, including some farms and various hands-on activities, such as fruit picking.

Where is Daio Wasabi Farm?

The Daio Wasabi Farm near Matsumoto is one of Japan’s largest wasabi farms and a popular tourist destination. There are walking trails between the wasabi fields which feature a meticulously maintained network of small streams.

What is Mother Farm?

Mother Farm is a large, tourist-oriented farm on the Boso Peninsula with a variety of attractions and activities designed to give visitors farm experiences. Attractions include the largest rapeseed flower fields in the Kanto Region, seasonal fruit picking, sheep dog shows, a small petting zoo, feeding the animals and food workshops.

Where is Koiwai Farm?

Koiwai Farm is a large farm at the foot of Mount Iwate, a 30 minute bus ride outside of Morioka. It is well known for its dairy products. One part of the farm is open to the public and contains shops, restaurants and workshops. Visitors can also view the farm’s historic buildings some of which are over 100 years old.

Is there an olive park in Japan?

The island has been a top producer of Japanese olives and olive oil since 1908. The Olive Park is a working olive grove that offers attractive walking paths through the hillside. There is a small museum where visitors can learn about the history of olive cultivation on the island, as well as a restaurant, cafe and shops.

Overview

Agriculture

Land shortage

Livestock

Forestry

Fisheries

See also

Further reading