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Abstract
The paper analyzes how Japanese group farming organizations have developed
since World War II. In post-war Japanese agriculture, part-time farmers are
increasing, and heirs and successors to the older farmers are leaving farms
and rural areas as a consequence of rapid industrialization. About nine years
after the emergence of post-war voluntary group farming, the government
introduced the concept of corporate (group) farming, appealing in particular
to young farmer-successors hoping that corporate (group) farming would
help them get benefits similar to those offered by industries in urban areas.
The study reveals that thanks to the government's special support and laws,
the number of corporate (group) farming organizations has rapidly increased
although it is still low as compared to the number of voluntary group farming
organizations. Nowadays, however, group farming plays an important role in
post-war Japanese agriculture. This paper also discusses briefly how Japanese
group farming differs from, or is similar to, group farming in some other Asian
countries, developed and developing.