Maintenance and Management of Agricultural Infrastructure in Shrinking Societies: A Review of Japanese Geographical Studies

Abstract

This paper presents a comparison of the research approaches adopted by Japanese and Western geographers into the maintenance and management of Asian farmland over time. The Japanese population is aging and shrinking, and solutions for preserving the agricultural sector are needed. Agriculture does not make a significant contribution to the national economies of developed countries, such as Japan, and it therefore no longer attracts full-time farmers. Geographers have noted a decline in the number of full-time farmers since the 1930s to the present day, while part-time farming collectives have increased in Japan. The actors involved in maintaining farmlands have changed from individual farmers – of the Showa generation – to part-time farming collectives based on wider areas such as school districts and other types of communities. The actors and their organizational structures have evolved and continue to evolve, and this paper focuses on how the maintenance of irrigates and farmland management can continue with fewer actors who have responsibility for larger agricultural areas. This paper proposes a method for geographically interpreting the mechanisms for reorganization of these actors by focusing on social networks and actors’mobility. Furthermore, it highlights a way in which Japanese rural geographers can contribute to future Asian and worldwide rural studies.