Agricultural Economic Policy in Japan: Supply and Demand Approaches of the Food Self-Sufficiency Rate

摘要

The self-sufficiency rate is recognized as a policy target in Japan. Since this rate has been gotten from several conditions of demand and supply sides of foods, simply targeting it should involve enormous number of alternative policies. This paper analyzes the demand and supply sides of Japanese agriculture concerning the recent agricultural economic policy in Japan, especially for the program of individual income compensation. This program has the effect to conserve rice production, thus there should not be large effects on the rise of the self-sufficiency rate. We also found that the rice consumption has been replaced by the consumption of beefs and others, economic policy should aim to convert rice production to something related to them.