株式会社の農地取得による農業参入の制度と課題

Abstract

Until 2009，with the exception of local people，only agricultural corporations certified by the Agricultural Land Act could acquire farmland through buying or leasing in Japan. However，in 2009，b y revising the Agricultural Land Act and the Act for the Promotion of the Improvement of Agricultural Management Foundation，t he Japanese government has allowed corporations to enter into agriculture by satisfying certain "harmony requirements" with regard to agriculture in the area. In order to become involved in agriculture，the corporations also have to fulfill a number of "special requirements." The corporations are not actually allowed to buy farmland. They are therefore required to make contractual arrangements to"borrow" land from local owners. As a result of these arrangements，it is expected that new developments in Japanese agriculture will take place. However，there is some concern that the stability of the agricultural and rural public order, which has been cultivated so well in the past，may be disturbed. The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential problems that may occur when stock companies acquire the rights to lease farm land. The manner in which the Agricultural Commission and the municipal authorities administer this process is crucial for the successful development of rural agriculture. The Agricultural Commission and the municipal authorities are required to outline the specific requirements needed to preserve the harmony and stability of the rural environment to the stock companies that hope to enter into agriculture. The role of these bodies is to make clear to these companies how they can best operate within the established regional agricultural structures.