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DOI： 10.23841/egsk.2022.25.1.109

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Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Society for Systematic Regional Geography  

This study analyzes management strategies adopted by catfish producers in Socialist Republic of Vietnam （hereinafter referred to as Vietnam） to compete in the global market. Since their entry into the global market in 2000, catfish processing companies in the study area have faced three challenges: anti-dumping tax from United States of America （hereinafter referred to as the United States）, the imbalance of supply and demand between aquaculture and processing companies, and growing quality standards for food safety. Data from the interviews with 16 catfish producers in province of Can Tho in the southern Vietnam show that these companies can adapt to changes in the global market by adopting one or some of the following strategies: establishing their own grow-out sites, obtaining quality certificates, expanding into new markets, and collaborating with other companies to export. The choice of strategies for their companies often depends on the size of the company. The bigger companies can access more stable sources of raw materials and thus produce high-value products that fulfill quality standards. Meanwhile, smaller companies face uncertainty in the supply of raw materials and often struggle to meet quality requirements and maintain stable exports. Differentiation is usually the means of survival for small companies. However, it might not be possible in this industry due to the high barriers of the global export markets. Therefore, strengthening cooperation with export companies should be considered as a critical strategy. Catfish processing companies have been improving their ability to solve various problems in the global market by responding to the mentioned-above three issues, and Vietnam's catfish industry is expected to continue to grow significantly in the future. However, it is expected that the stratification of the processing companies will further progress through the diversification of export destination markets and the response to global standard certificates.

DOI： 10.24580/cck.26.2_1

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Society for Systematic Regional Geography  

DOI： 10.24580/cck.26.2_23

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Authorship：Lead author,　Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

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Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Japan Association of Economic Geography  

This study clarifies the adverse effect of the globalization of the catfish market on Vietnamese catfish farmers, and their adaptive strategies. <BR>    Catfish aquaculture in Vietnam began to thrive in 1999 after the success of fry breeding technology. However, since the late 2000s, due to the instability of market demand and stricter food safety standards, the tendency of vertical integration by catfish processing/exporting companies has become stronger. Vietnamese catfish farmers have generally split into two groups. One group has switched to contract production with processing/exporting companies, while the other continues farming without such contracts (individual production). <BR>    Data collected through the survey of 45 catfish farmers in Can Tho City, southern Vietnam showed that their decisions of whether to continue individual production or to enter contract farming depend on their ability to access external resources such as feed supply with favorable conditions. Farmers with good financial capacity and social relationships continue individual production, which would make high profits but, at the same time, carries high risks due to price fluctuations. On the contrary, farmers who have insufficient capital and social relationships, and are vulnerable to market fluctuations, were forced to switch to contract farming in spite of lower profits in order to avoid market risks. <BR>    Farmers with low financial capacity tend to form connections with feed suppliers and processing companies or, in other words, to cope with this disadvantage with social connections. However, in the case of catfish farming, such substitution seems to be difficult due to the heavy dependence on feed and other inputs. Therefore, entering contract production is a vital strategy for low-capital catfish farmers.

DOI： 10.20592/jaeg.67.3_172

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

DOI： 10.14866/ajg.2021a.0_72

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Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

Over the last two decades, land acquisition for urbanization has caused a huge loss of farmland on the fringes of Hanoi, Vietnam. Previous studies have often criticized this policy for pushing farmers out of farming and disrupting peri-urban endogenous development. This study provides a case report of a peri-urban commune in western Hanoi to show how this claim is misleading. We found that livelihood transitions in this commune took place early on, and this helped most local laborers prepare to move on from farming when urbanization sped up and land acquisition policies were implemented. As a result, they were able to adapt to farmland loss without experiencing major difficulties and to transform their livelihoods for the better. This early transition was popular in the peri-urban context of northern Vietnam, where the inherent lack of employment and income from farming as well as the favorable location induced local laborers to go beyond the villages in pursuit of new opportunities. They actively took advantage of the changes around them to find new means of livelihood in order to earn higher incomes. This study calls for improvements in the compensation scheme and urban planning processes to make urbanization and land acquisition policies work for people on the fringes of cities in northern Vietnam.

DOI： 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104896

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Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

DOI： 10.4157/geogrevjapanb.93.1

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Authorship：Corresponding author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier BV  

Farmers in peri-urban areas across Vietnam are experiencing rapid transformations in their livelihood and land use practices. Peri-urbanization is progressing rapidly, along with the risk of conversion of large amounts of farmland into non-agricultural land. Additionally, an increasing number of laborers are moving away from both agriculture and rural areas. Understanding households’ strategies in landholding and livelihood under such circumstances is crucial to the development and planning of these fringe areas. This study investigates the landholding behaviors of farmers in a transitional commune on the fringe of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Our data demonstrated that farmers delayed land transfers to their successors, adopted more flexible crop choices, and diversified their livelihoods in order to deal with the lower access to land and the outflow of labor from farming. The combination of these strategies helped farmers in Thanh Loi significantly in maintaining their landholdings and benefiting from increasing land prices, while keeping adequate levels of income. These findings suggest that peri-urban farmers should be viewed as economic entities that actively interact with the ongoing transition on the fringe to improve their own wellbeing rather than as passive peasants that are negatively affected by the process.

DOI： 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.01.038

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Human Geographical Society of Japan  

Recently, the Japanese government initiated an administrative process which has resulted in the merging of municipalities across the country. Since then, the quality of services provided to inhabitants by the local government has declined in depopulated areas. As a result, it has been suggested that there may be a role for self-organization in the revival of local governance. In many depopulated areas, the distance between local government and the local community has continued to grow, and this has led to the newly established local government transferring certain responsibilities to the local community. Consequently, the reorganization of the local community has become indispensable. Kawane Village is located in the mountainous area of Akitakata City, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan. Despite having a rapidly aging population, this village has been particularly successful in revitalizing local governance through reorganization of the local community. This research examines a variety of the community activities involved, and the unique management methods behind them, in an attempt to ascertain the factors which have resulted in successful self-governance in this village. Since its establishment in 1972, the Kawane Promotion Association has experienced three crucial turning points. Initially, the Kawane Promotion Association, which had previously consisted of only a few households, encouraged every household in the village to become involved in the organization of cultural activities. Since the 1980s, the Kawane Promotion Association has begun to act as a representative for the local community, for example, in dealing with local problems and in communicating with the local government. Finally, since the 1990s, the Kawane Promotion Association has begun to manage private land resources and offer welfare services to individuals. The Kawane Promotion Association has instigated the development of eight related departments that are responsible for specific tasks or activities. This research shows that the success of the Kawane Promotion Association lies in its unique style of management, whereby there is no central authority ; instead, decision-making powers are transferred among units as required, ensuring full participation by local residents.

DOI： 10.4200/jjhg.62.1_36

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Other Link： https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/books/R000000004-I10630661

Language：English   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

This research attempts to clarify the characteristics of the "poor" households in Phu An Commune, located on the shore of Tam Giang Lagoon, Central Vietnam. To understand the socioeconomic background of poverty in the area, the authors examine the changes in agriculture as well as shrimp aquaculture since the adoption of "Doi Moi", an open-door policy, in 1986. Then, the constraints which make it difficult for them to escape from poverty are discussed. The results of this study show that agricultural and aquacultural changes have diversified the locals' livehoods. The positive changes are reflected in the decline of the number of "poor" households as well as in their evaluation of their lives compared with 20 years ago. Nevertheless, there are still many constraints which cause the "poor" households to remain poor in spite of the remarkable economic growth during the last 20 years. Insight into the detailed situation of poverty in the area is given through the categorization of the residents by their livelihood: mobile gear fishing (usually called "Sampan people"), fixed gear fishing, farming, farming and fishing, and service. In the process of the "Doi Moi" policy and following the introduction of shrimp aquaculture around 1999, the water surface of Tam Giang Lagoon, which used to be an open-access common resource, was allocated to individuals for their exclusive use and exploited mainly for shrimp aquaculture. Due to these drastic changes in local resource, the "Sampan people", who have been engaged in only fishery in Tam Giang Lagoon, have changed their position in the commune from the greatest beneficiaries to those of sacrifices. Now the poorest in this area are those who engage in mobile gear fishing, the "Sampan people".

DOI： 10.4157/geogrevjapanb.81.79

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DOI： 10.4157/grj.78.317

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Total pages：viii, 255p   Language：Japanese

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：THE JAPANESE SOCIETY FOR GEOGRAPHICAL SCIENCES  

DOI： 10.20630/chirikagaku.72.3_134

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Human Geographical Society of Japan  

DOI： 10.11518/hgeog.0.0_86

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Publishing type：Book review, literature introduction, etc.  

The human geography of Vietnam's upland area has been transformed significantly during the last 40 years due to the increasing control from the central government. We argue that State territorialisation, understood as a strategy of State-making and assertion of the State's authority, has the tendency to marginalise, socially and politically, local ethnic minority peoples by excluding them from indigenous social and economic geography and the use of natural resources. At the receiving end of these official policies, the local ethnic minority people do not passively accept their marginalisation but are able to initiate the use of traditional cross-border cultural resources to improve their condition. By analysing the tolerance from local official towards illicit cross-border activities daily carried out by local people, the case study provides some insights on the dynamics of power struggle between the State and local people. We concluded that local ethnic minority peoples actively re-negotiate with more powerful State and economic actors and re-shape local border politics while the State is not always uncompromising and monolithic as it is usually portrayed.

DOI： 10.4000/belgeo.19409

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Farm Management Society of Japan  

DOI： 10.11300/fmsj.54.3_109

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Japan has joined the Ramsar Convention since 1980. Up to now 46 wetland sites in Japan have been registered as the Ramsar sites as of the September 2013. Though the Ramsar Convention aims at not only conserving wetlands but also "wise-use" of wetlands, discourses on Ramsar sites seem to be focused on conservation rather than "wise-use". Particularly in Japan, registering a wetland to the Ramsar Convention hardly contributes to regional economies and/or tourism as a model of "wise-use". This paper attempts to give a clue on why "wiseuse" as an objective of the Ramsar Convention has rarely been realized in Japan. To answer this question, we conducted the questionnaire survey through the Internet on the impression of wetlands as tourist destinations as well as the perception toward the Ramsar Convention. The results are as follows. 1) Registration to the Ramsar Convention in Japan does not necessarily contribute to increasing tourists in wetlands. This is partly due to low-level recognition to the Ramsar sites of Japan. 2) The Ramsar Convention tends to be perceived as a regulation for environmental conservation. It is not widely recognized as a tool for sustainable development. 3) Tourist activities in wetlands are not diverse. 4) Those who were willing to participate in wetland conservation activities were the minority. 5) Those who wanted to actively participate in wetland conservation activities tended to have strong interests in "nature" and most of them had volunteer experiences for environment conservation. 6) Those who wanted to indirectly participate in wetland conservation activities tended to regard registration to the Ramsar sites as one of global brands.

DOI： 10.15027/35653

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Other Link： http://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/025327181

Language：English  

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Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

DOI： 10.14866/ajg.2013a.0_100031

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Human Geographical Society of Japan  

DOI： 10.11518/hgeog.2013.0.94.0

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

The Upo swamp, which was registered as a Ramsar Convention wetland in 1998, is the second Ramsar wetlands site in the Republic of Korea. This research aimed to clarify the process of Ramsar wetlands registration and the local governance established afterward for the environmental conservation of the Upo swamp, focusing on the impacts on local residents' livelihoods and their perception of the Ramasar registration.<br>In the process of the Ramsar registration as well as the crested ibis breeding grounds project, the conservation activities for the Upo swamp have been implemented in a top-down style. Moreover, ecological virtues have been overemphasized in the establishment of local environmental governance for the Upo swamp, paying little attention to coexistence with local residents. This has resulted in significant spatial segregation between the conserved Ramsar site (the Upo swamp) and the surrounding villages in the Upo area, although residents have interacted for hundreds of years with the Upo swamp for their livelihoods. The local residents have been frustrated by this bureaucratic protectionism. They agree on the importance of wetlands protection, although they feel that they have not sufficiently participated in the benefit sharing from the Ramsar registration, in spite of a huge increase in tourist numbers to about 800,000 per year. The potential for tourism in the Upo swamp is evaluated very highly, with its rich biodiversity and beautiful landscape. Benefit-sharing mechanisms with local residents should be established in the Upo area, while conserving its environmental virtues.

DOI： 10.4157/ejgeo.8.223

DOI： 10.6012/jwei.32.23_references_DOI_xZCmdfQGQnabxR1D6dbXQGUZtq

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Other Link： https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/grant/KAKENHI-PROJECT-23520960/

Language：Japanese   Publisher：Tokyo Geographical Society  

This study reviews current trends and issues in geography and geography education in Korea. The first geographers' society was established in 1945 after the country was liberated from Japan. Despite its short history, geographical studies in Korea have sharply increased during the last 60 years. Against this background, the features of geographical studies in Korea can be summarized as follows: first, geography in Korea was required to emphasize its character as a science of the nation until the 1980s due to its geopolitical situation. Since the 1990s, however, the mainstream of geography in Korea has focused on area studies in other countries. This is partly due to the globalization of the Korean economy and an increase in the number of geographers studying abroad, especially in the United States. It should also be noted that radical geography has contributed to the linearization of Korean society since the 1980s.

DOI： 10.5026/jgeography.121.815

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

Why Japanese women choose to work in Vietnam?

DOI： 10.14866/ajg.2011s.0.104.0

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

A huge area has been in the process of reclamation in the Saemangum area, Cholla North province, Republic of Korea, since 1991. The controversy concerning the objective as well as the value of the tidelands has become a heated issue nationwide. Agencies of the environmental movement and local grassroots organizations have protested the reclamation project, arguing that the project lacks a clear objective and will lead to destruction of the largest tidelands in the country.<br>This paper aims to examine the temporal space structures of environmental controversies which are socially constructed with regard to regional development issues. The authors clarified the temporal changes in the “Saemangum controversy” through newspapers and key informant interviews over the last five years according to the three different spatial dimensions of national, regional, and local.<br>The results showed that the points of issue concerning environmental problems with different spatial dimensions constitute multiple structures, varying with the arena of controversy. If an environmental problem is variable according to a spatial dimension as well as a temporal one, the key to solving lies in how to develop the structure of controversy, not in determining the fundamental aspects of the environmental problem.

DOI： 10.4157/grj.82.277

DOI： 10.5026/jgeography.129.71_references_DOI_BbpDwP3DYXuFavnwYnkE7FEcgV1

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Other Link： http://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/10384356

Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

1.Introduction
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Tam Giang lagoon, one of the biggest in Asia, is located in Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Viet Nam. Its area is about 22,000 ha with a length of 70 km along the coast, connected to 5 of 8 districts in Thua Thien Hue Province, comprising 32 communes. Approximately 300,000 inhabitants (18% of provincial population - 2006) live around the lagoon in 326 villages. Around 195,000 people are directly involved in lagoon activities, and 7,500 labourers specialising in lagoon exploitation. About 10,000 people take the lagoon surface to be their residence. Since aquaculture has been regarded as a suitable alternative, fishers wanted to convert natural lagoon areas into the cultured fisheries areas with high valuable species. Opening scale of aquaculture area, types of culture and participation of social classes has set the complicatedness of resource management, environmental and socio-economic issues. It effects directly or indirectly on the change of lives of local people, widening the gap between the poor and the rich around the lagoon. The purpose of this paper is to examine the change of resource management of local communities and environmental issues under aquaculture development. Simultaneously, we discuss how to manage and develop suitable lagoon by community-based resources management in the Tam Giang lagoon. This research used questionnaires, field observation, and interview with fishers, farmers, leaders of communes and experts from relevant agencies in Thua Thien Hue Province to analysis and evaluate. The data and related documents were gathered on March and September, 2006.

DOI： 10.14866/ajg.2007f.0.73.0

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Association of Japanese Geographers  

DOI： 10.14866/ajg.2007s.0.164.0

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DOI： 10.14866/ajg.2007s.0.139.0

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：立命館大学国際言語文化研究所  

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：山川出版社  

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DOI： 10.24517/00001062

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Other Link： http://id.ndl.go.jp/bib/5874996

Language：Japanese   Publisher：Fukushima University  

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The effect of employment growth on internal migration depends on corresponding adjustments of the local housing market. If employment growth in a geographical area is accompanied by a sharp increase in housing prices, the net outcome may be net out-migration rather than migration gain. In the present paper, this concept is tested using statistical data available for 47 prefectures in Japan. The analysis covers the two five-year periods of 1983-87 and 1988-92, and confirms that the use of a combined representation of employment and housing variables makes it possible to improve considerably the performance of an empirical migration model. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley &amp
Sons, Ltd.

DOI： 10.1002/ijpg.218

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This study analyzes the regional process of dependency and changes of endogenous self-organizations in a depopulated remote area of Japan, via the case of Namiai village, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Namiai village lost almost half of its population during the period 1952 to 1995. As a result, the population of the village was reduced to 778 persons in 1995, with the aged ratio (over 65 years old) being almost 30%. Since the 1960s, in an attempt to counteract depopulation, Namiai village has implemented a pioneering and grass-roots resort development. As a result of grass-roots efforts, tourists in this village have increased from 80 thousand persons in 1967 to currently 300 thousand persons. This rise in tourism is related to an increase in employment and income. At its peak, more than 100 persons were employed by the resort-related facilities, where the total population was less than 800 persons. Rapid depopulation was thus curtailed. As the tourist industry grew, however, it fell under the control of the logic of capital. This in turn prevented the voluntary involvement of residents. From the 1970s, the Central Government of Japan started to implement financial transfers to local governments on a large scale. As a result, with subsidies from the Central government the village government was able to continue investing in the resort development. In other words, the village government didn't need to negotiate with the residents on their policies. But at times these policies opposed the wishes of the residents who needed more investment in education, helth and other public services for themselves rather than for tourists. And the village government no longer needed to organize people for the community mobilization. As a result the foundation of the village government changed from the community to the Central government. In the meantime, with the increase in public investment, only the construction sector could continue growing rapidly. Finally, the owners of construction companies appeared as a new political elite, with the result that unnecessary public construction by subsidy increased. In short, the resort development of Namiai village deteriorated to a situation of dependency. This was due to an over-emphasis on economic aspects such as employment while ignoring social aspects such as organizing the development actors. The institutional intervention resulted in two conflicting phenomena - the strengthening of the financial autonomy of municipal governments and the weakening of self-reliance capabilities. As a result, most of the traditionally endogenous organizations of a community have been disorganized or reorganized under the leadership of the municipal government. The endogenous self-organizations thus changed roles to pseudo-organizations of the local government.

DOI： 10.4200/jjhg1948.52.28

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Language：English   Publisher：Association of Japanese Geographers  

Comparing the remarkable economic growth of Japan and South Korea (hereafter, Korea), many scholars have adopted the modernization theory and/or the stages theory of development. They argue that development is about the modernization of traditional societies. Moreover, it is also widely accepted that developing countries could and should learn from the pioneer countries that have already developed. However, they fail to explain the opposite side of the remarkable economic growth in both countries
namely rapid depopulation and wide collapse of rural communities. This study is an attempt to build an alternative theoretical framework for sustainable development of rural communities in East Asia, focusing on Japan and Korea. The endogenous self-organization that functions as a substantial social unit for rural development is emphasized. To accomplish this purpose, a case from each country is introduced and interpreted in an alternative way. The cases demonstrate that endogenous self-organizations function as a coordinator in policy implementation. While the two countries differ from each other in their method of local government intervention, the comparison of the two cases shows that rural development initiated by a local government cannot be sustainable without enhancing endogenous self-organizations. Ironically, it could be argued that no intervention strengthens the self-organizing capabilities of a rural community.

DOI： 10.4157/grj1984b.72.100

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Tohoku Geographical Association  

After World War II, Japan increased its institutional efforts to improve the technology of rice production. As a result Japan experienced a remarkable increase in the domestic yield of rice. Since the middle of the 1960s the overproduction of domestic rice has raised nationwide concern. To prevent the decrease in the domestic price of rice due to overproduction, Japan implemented the Policy of Reducing Production (Seisan Chosei). Under this policy, the acreage of rice planted paddy fields has been strictly restricted respectively at each level of farmhouses, agricultural settlements, and municipalities. With this policy a farmer can receive a subsidy for planting crops other than rice on a paddy field. The subsidy received is based on the type of substitute crop. The Government has guaranteed pastures to receive the highest subsidy.<br>In this article the process of regional adaptability to the Policy of Reducing Production is discussed with regards to the impact of a farmer's organization and the condition of the agricultural land. To accomplish this, the municipality of Towa-cho, where rice production is predominate, was selected as the study area. To examine the impact of a farmer's organization and the condition of the land, two agricultural settlements within Towa-cho were selected: Momonosawa and Motomachi.<br>Before the 1970s a large-scale reclamation had been carried out at Momonosawa. A farmer's cooperative for mutual use of agricultural machinery had not been organized at this settlement. The farmers had individually adopted agricultural machinery such as a cultivator, a tractor, a rice planting machine and a combined harvester. The use of this type of machinery would alleviate the time spent on farming and allow the farmers to manage more time so they can pursue other potential sources of income outside of farming. As an adaptation to the policy, crop conversion from rice to pasture has been the general tendency of the farmers since the 1970s. However, after the 1990s there has been a regional overproduction of pasture at Momonosawa. This in turned has forced farmers to change from pasture to a lower subsidy crop. As a result the "adjusted paddy field" (Chosei-suiden, a paddy field where no crops are planted) has been increasing at Momonosawa. It should be noted that there is a cultural propensity for Japanese farmers to resist abandoning a paddy field.<br>The conversion from paddy field to pasture is also a common practice at Motomachi. In contrast to Momonosawa, a well-developed farmer's cooperative has been established at Motomachi since the 1970s. Within Motomachi there are varying functioning levels of farmer's cooperatives. To examine the possible impact of the of a farmer's cooperative in more detail, three hamlets within Motomachi have been selected: Yakata, Nakada and Oki. In Yakata, the farmer's cooperative is very weak. Due to this weakness the lower class farmers have tended to abandon agricultural activities except for the cultivation of a paddy field for self-sufficiency. As a result fallow and abandoned fields have increased since the 1990s. In Nakada, the farmer's cooperative had been well developed but has weakened over time. The decrease in the farmer's cooperative membership played a key role in it's weakening. Despite the weak farmer's cooperative, it helped hinder the development of fallow or abandoned fields there. In Oki, a strong farmer's cooperative has been developed. They have demonstrated a collective behavior toward adapting to the policy. As opposed to converting paddy fields to pastures, a large-scale collective production of high-returned crops, such as cucumber and alley, has been implemented. This is an example of the possibility of maintaining regional agriculture despite of severe circumstances brought about by policies such as the Policy of Reducing Production.

DOI： 10.5190/tga.51.273

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Language：Japanese   Publisher：The Tohoku Geographical Association  

After World War II, Japan increased its institutional efforts to improve the technology of rice production. As a result Japan experienced a remarkable increase in the domestic yield of rice. Since the middle of the 1960s the overproduction of domestic rice has raised nationwide concern. To prevent the decrease in the domestic price of rice due to overproduction, Japan implemented the Policy of Reducing Production (Seisan Chosei). Under this policy, the acreage of rice planted paddy fields has been strictly restricted respectively at each level of farmhouses, agricultural settlements, and municipalities. With this policy a farmer can receive a subsidy for planting crops other than rice on a paddy field. The subsidy received is based on the type of substitute crop. The Government has guaranteed pastures to receive the highest subsidy.<br>In this article the process of regional adaptability to the Policy of Reducing Production is discussed with regards to the impact of a farmer's organization and the condition of the agricultural land. To accomplish this, the municipality of Towa-cho, where rice production is predominate, was selected as the study area. To examine the impact of a farmer's organization and the condition of the land, two agricultural settlements within Towa-cho were selected: Momonosawa and Motomachi.<br>Before the 1970s a large-scale reclamation had been carried out at Momonosawa. A farmer's cooperative for mutual use of agricultural machinery had not been organized at this settlement. The farmers had individually adopted agricultural machinery such as a cultivator, a tractor, a rice planting machine and a combined harvester. The use of this type of machinery would alleviate the time spent on farming and allow the farmers to manage more time so they can pursue other potential sources of income outside of farming. As an adaptation to the policy, crop conversion from rice to pasture has been the general tendency of the farmers since the 1970s. However, after the 1990s there has been a regional overproduction of pasture at Momonosawa. This in turned has forced farmers to change from pasture to a lower subsidy crop. As a result the "adjusted paddy field" (Chosei-suiden, a paddy field where no crops are planted) has been increasing at Momonosawa. It should be noted that there is a cultural propensity for Japanese farmers to resist abandoning a paddy field.<br>The conversion from paddy field to pasture is also a common practice at Motomachi. In contrast to Momonosawa, a well-developed farmer's cooperative has been established at Motomachi since the 1970s. Within Motomachi there are varying functioning levels of farmer's cooperatives. To examine the possible impact of the of a farmer's cooperative in more detail, three hamlets within Motomachi have been selected: Yakata, Nakada and Oki. In Yakata, the farmer's cooperative is very weak. Due to this weakness the lower class farmers have tended to abandon agricultural activities except for the cultivation of a paddy field for self-sufficiency. As a result fallow and abandoned fields have increased since the 1990s. In Nakada, the farmer's cooperative had been well developed but has weakened over time. The decrease in the farmer's cooperative membership played a key role in it's weakening. Despite the weak farmer's cooperative, it helped hinder the development of fallow or abandoned fields there. In Oki, a strong farmer's cooperative has been developed. They have demonstrated a collective behavior toward adapting to the policy. As opposed to converting paddy fields to pastures, a large-scale collective production of high-returned crops, such as cucumber and alley, has been implemented. This is an example of the possibility of maintaining regional agriculture despite of severe circumstances brought about by policies such as the Policy of Reducing Production.

DOI： 10.5190/tga.51.273

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CiNii Article

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CiNii Article

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This study explored the changes in agricultural land use in the Sendai metropolitan area since the 1970s using the Geographical Information System. The study area, being a regional center for the Tohoku region, has experienced rapid urban expansion since the 1970s. It was found that notwithstanding the transfer of 18% of arable land to urban use, there has been a slight increase in arable land due mainly to the reclamation of forests into pasture. Urban development in the study area occurred mainly on forest-covered hills, and it was arable land unsuited for agriculture that had been released for urban developments. The development of arable land suitable for agriculture has been slower than expected, considering the rapidity of urban expansion during the study period. An extrapolation of the changes in arable land use since the 1970s suggests that paddy fields and dry fields close to existing urbanized areas are likely to be urbanized by 2020 ; whilst arable land unsuitable for either agricultural or urban use, and arable land newly developed since the 1970s are likely to be abandoned.

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CiNii Article

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CiNii Article

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The main issue in the rural geography of Korea has been the regional impacts of rapid rural-urban migration. In the process of industrialization since the 1960s, rural areas lost more than half of their population during the period 1970-90. Depopulation rates were about 25% in the 1970s and 35% in the 1980s. As a result, almost all of rural Korea, excluding areas near metropolitan areas, have been undergoing depopulation at rates in excess of 3% per year. In this paper, the current research on rural depopulation of Korea has been reviewed with three sub-themes, that is, its cause, the pattern of rural-urban migration, and regional impacts. The rural areas in Korea were transformed to scarce population areas as a result of the rapid rural-urban migration since the 1960s. The main cause of rural-urban migration has been the urban-oriented national policy, the so-called growth centre strategy. The national planners selected a few metropolitan areas as growth centres and fostered a regional disparity. This led to the migration of, particularly, highly educated rural youths to urban areas seeking non-agricultural occupations and increased incomes. In addition, remote mountainous areas in which most of the underground resources are found, have been experiencing more severe depopulation since the 1970s, due to the new energy policy, namely, the transfer from a coal-oriented to a petroleum-oriented policy and the restrictions placed on utilization of forest areas. In this process, the most severe depopulated areas in Korea shifted from plain agricultural areas near metropolitan areas (1960s) to remote mountainous areas (1970s and the first half of the 1980s) and agriculture areas remote from metropolitan areas (after the latter half of the 1980s). With this background, the pattern of rural-urban migration in Korea can be characterized as follows from the current research. © 1995, The Human Geographical Society of Japan. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.4200/jjhg1948.47.21

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