JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Yasunari Sugiyama, Miki Tsubono, Kenya Suzuki and Mayu Okada, Nishimura & Asahi
Nishimura & Asahi Otemon Tower 1-1-2 Otemachi Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-8124 Japan Tel: +81 3 6250 6200 Fax: +81 3 6250 7200 Email: info@nishimura.com Web: www.nishimura.com
Corporate Entry Into Agribusiness Japan’s current agricultural and policy issues Japan’s ageing population and declining number of agricultural workers have been recognised issues for some time. According to the 2025 Annual Report on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas in Japan, the num- ber of farm operators has decreased significantly, from 2,367,000 in 2000 to 836,000 in 2025, while the num- ber of organisational agricultural operators, including corporations, increased from 30,000 to 40,000. The average age of primary farmers was 62 years and two months in 2000, but 67 years and seven months in 2025. It is estimated that less than 30% of all farm operators will be able to secure agricultural manage- ment successors within five years. Japan’s total cropland is also on a downward trend. The area of cropland decreased from 4.83 million hec- tares in 2000 to 4.27 million hectares in 2024, and the cropland use rate decreased from 94.5% to 90.4%. Inheritance issues and farm abandonment where heirs or business successors are unknown or uncer- tain are becoming more common, and the amount of untended cropland where the owners or co-owners are unknown is increasing. Certain observed phenomena hinder the concentra- tion and effective use of cropland. In order to deal with these structural challenges, it is necessary to exam- ine agricultural operators, agriculture businesses and cropland needs from the perspective of sustainability. In addition, it is necessary to improve production effi- ciency by shifting from small-scale family manage-
ment of small-scale, dispersed farms to large-scale agricultural management based on the consolidation of cropland by corporations, and to secure agricultural workers through enterprises entering into agriculture from different industries. In the agricultural sector, many relatives of entrepreneurs have taken over the management of farms. However, due to a shortage of successors, succession by officers and employees of farm organisations (rather than the operators’ rela- tives), and M&A by enterprises engaged in different industries, have increased. Entry into the agricultural field by corporations operating in different industries is discussed in the following. Method of entry into agriculture: acquisition of cropland Enterprises operating in other industries have vari- ous objectives for entering into agriculture. In the past, there were many situations in which construc- tion companies entered the agricultural industry for the purposes of diversification of management and employment measures, and in which entities operat- ing in the food manufacturing and food wholesaling industries ventured into agriculture for the purpose of increasing value added to, and differentiation of, goods in their core business sectors, as well as secur- ing stable supplies of raw materials. In recent years, entities operating in a variety of other industries, including services, financial and infrastructure busi- nesses, have entered the agricultural sector, in the wake of a 2009 amendment to the Cropland Act that permits relevant types of cropland leases.
49 A GRICULTURA L LAW 20 26
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