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A field of tea plants with Mt. Fuji in the background.
Agriculture
  1. Land Reform in Postwar Japan
  2. Why Japan's Land Reform Succeeded
  3. Wet Rice Agriculture
  4. Transplanting Rice Seedlings
  5. Early Mechanization of Agriculture
  6. Reorganization of Farm Land
  7. Innovations in Fruit and Vegetable Farming
  8. Rice Rationing and Subsidies
  9. Japan’s Shrinking Farm Population
  10. Farm Household Size and the Problem of Succession
  11. Who Farms in Japanese Farm Households?
  12. San-Chan Nōgyō
  13. The Changing Japanese Diet
  14. Dairy Farming in Japan
  15. What Dairy Products Do Japanese Eat?
  16. Beef Cattle in Japan
  17. The Changing Income of Farm Households
  18. Raising Silkworms in Japan
  19. Food Self-Sufficiency in Japan
  20. Food Self-Sufficiency in Rice
  21. Organic Farming in Japan
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Aerial view of a large factory nestled in farm fields.
Factories built in rural areas provide employment for farm families.
Photo from Kyuatsu.co.jp.
The Changing Income of Farm Households
Farm households in Japan today receive less than 13 percent of their total income from farming activites. In 1975 the figure was 28.9 percent, but it dropped sharply during the 1980s. During this same time the disposable income (all income minus taxes) has nearly doubled. While living expenses have also doubled, the smaller farm housholds today have 50 percent more surplus income, and twice as much disposable income per person as they did in 1975. Farm households today enjoy much the same standard of living as urban dwellers. They have the same consumer goods in their homes, and are well-served by national transportation networks and communication services. Since the 1980s, manufacturing companies have been moving some of their production facilities to rural areas, where wages and land prices are low. Nearby factory jobs allow farm families to remain in their rural homes but earn more cash wages.
Special Terms: farm household  |  living expenses  |  surplus income  |  transportation network

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