ABSTRACT
Japan’s agricultural sector is in an ongoing process of decline. The contribution to gross domestic product (GDP) is only 1% and the proportion of employment 4%, which mainly includes part-time and hobby farmers, small and micro-plots farming and two-thirds of commercial farmers are older than 65 years. This chapter argues that the prospect of a comprehensive Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement involving Japan could have served as a focusing event triggering transformative policy change. So far, the discursive linking of Japan’s national identity to history and food culture, food security objectives and patronage for farmers caused strong barriers to any substantial policy innovation in the field.
