ABSTRACT
Political factors seem to play a greater role in the determination and effectuation of government policy in the agricultural sector than in any other sector in Japan—a phenomenon that appears to be the case in many other developed countries of the world as well. In this respect, there hardly seems a need to single Japan out as a special case. Three reasons, however, make worthwhile the discussion of politics that is presented in this chapter. First, it is worth examining the actual manner in which farm programs in Japan are formulated through the interaction of factors in the Japanese political setting. This involves a situation in which decision making is normally based on consensus rather than majority vote and one in which a "from-the-bottom-up" process, rather than a "top-down" process is the established procedure. Second, there is some need to elaborate on the simplistic answer the Japanese are wont to give—"it's because of politics"—when queried by foreigners in international forums about the seeming irrationality inherent in their government's farm policy. Third, it is necessary to clarify the manner in which the current trend—that of visible decline in the position of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) against a background of advancing urbanization—is affecting the relationship between agricultural policy and politics. 1
