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Research Fields

Researching agriculture, forestry and fisheries, food issues and the environment, all from a global perspective

Medium- and long-term studies on agriculture, forestry and fisheries, food issues and the environment

Growing concerns about the environment, dwindling resources, the rise of the emerging economies – all these have greatly changed the structure of international supply and demand for agricultural, forestry and fisheries products. The Japanese agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector has seen production capacity weaken as imports have climbed, depressing prices, and as the people who are the industry’s mainstay have aged without enough young hands to replace them.

Given this state of affairs, the Institute investigates how Japan’s agriculture, forestry and fisheries sector can best be organized from a global perspective, taking into account worldwide patterns of food supply and demand and the effect of WTO negotiations and free trade agreements on trade in farm products. Our research adopts a pragmatic, medium- to long-term outlook in quest of sustainability and economic vitality for the communities that form the industry’s backbone.

A record of research

The changing global grain market (surveying 11 countries and regions)
Japan’s farmland system and farmland policy
Gaining perspective on agriculture-commerce-industry cooperation
Large-scale rice farming today and its challenges
The U.S. Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
Forestry management attitudes of forestry cooperative members, and challenges and prospects for cooperative management
The fishing industry today and its challenges, based on a survey of fishery cooperative members
Comprehensive survey and analysis of world food supply and demand trends (covering 4 regions and 12 countries) (commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries)
Evolution of urban-rural exchanges and green tourism, and challenges for the future British food security policy and Japan

Providing information on economic and financial changes grounded in solid analysis

Timely information on economic and financial developments

The Institute provides strong support to the credit operations of the JA Bank and the JF Marine Bank by studying and analyzing Japanese and international economic trends and financial markets, and supplying timely information on that basis.

It investigates various problems caused by socioeconomic structural changes such as declining birthrates, the graying population and regional wealth gaps, and offers recommendations towards solutions.

The results of this research are made available through our periodicals and other publications. The Institute also writes articles and sends out personnel to give lectures at the request of affiliated and non-affiliated organizations, all as part of our mission of disseminating knowledge on financial and economic issues.

A record of research

Changes in socioeconomic structure and recent wage trends
Present and future of the U.S. subprime loan problem
The global financial crisis and supervision of banking
Demographic aging and financial institutions
Promotion of housing loans by regional financial institutions today and its challenges
The revised Moneylending Law and the problem of multiple debt
The deepening recession and household consumption
Fostering interaction with urban residents through the private ownership system
Stimulating the regional economy through operation of a facilities complex centered on a direct-sales store
Japanese and international trends in CO2 emissions trading systems

Exploring the cooperative’s future in the face of the structural change in society and economics.

Practical research on agricultural, forestry and fishery cooperatives

The Institute monitors and analyzes trends in the management, operation and organization of agricultural, fishery and forestry cooperatives, which form the cornerstone of the Japanese agriculture, forestry and fisheries industry. In addition, it delivers the practical information for the plan and business of the cooperatives.

Given the rapidly changing circumstances in which local communities and the industry find themselves, the Institute also investigates the organizational foundations of the country’s agricultural co-ops – individual members and users, member organizations and so forth – and conducts comparative research on cooperatives and cooperative banking institutions in other countries. Both in Japan and internationally, that makes us an excellent source of information on the state of cooperatives and the role they play in society.

A record of research

Review of agricultural cooperative banking business , outlook for cooperative banking business, and trends in agricultural cooperative management (published annually)
Questionnaires administered to agricultural ,forestry and fishery cooperatives
Agribusiness loans at agricultural cooperatives today and its challenges
Framework for overhauling organization of external relations at individual agricultural cooperatives
Environmental changes and reorganizational trends relating to farming groups at agricultural cooperatives, with particular reference to groups producing fruits and vegetables
Looking back at the history of urban agricultural cooperatives: Asset management and credit operations
The changing farm household structure and the agricultural cooperative organization: The looming challenge of the next generation
Development directions in village organization: Organizational restructuring and revitalization and establishment of new organizations
Trends in rice policy reform as seen on the ground, with particular reference to subsidies to farmers implementing production adjustments
The mutual aid systems and unity of European cooperative banking groups
Approaches to CSR at European cooperative banks