It is apparent that the attitude of economic sensibility toward land is

supported by a number of factors. First, certain absentee owners of agricultural

land may remain engaged in agricultural management, and such individuals may ho
ld the attitude of economic sensibility toward their land. Second, it is possibl
e that those with weak ties to the region may treat their land as merely somethi
ng to be exchanged for cash.
In present-day Japanese agriculture, the former labor tenant households
are not economically self-sufficient, as they were after the war. Japan has main
tained a certain level of economic stability, and the current challenge seems to
be to effectively increase food productivity. Even for farmers with small plots
of land who engage in agriculture as a side occupation, there is no problem whe
n the farmers are working their land, but it is necessary to develop plans for f
armers who are not doing so to use their land for agriculture. Currently, the go
vernment seems to be attempting to make such a plan, but members of the Diet who
were voted in by part-time farmers have delayed agricultural reforms. Even afte
r the 2015 agricultural reforms, challenges remain with regard to XXXX.
This study has demonstrated that absentee owners of agricultural land in
sparsely populated areas still have the traditional attitude toward their land,
as observed by rural sociologists. In particular, it has demonstrated that to s
ome extent, individuals who have consideration for the region, are male, and are
using small plots of land tend to hold the traditional attitude toward their la
nd. This result can also be interpreted to mean that they maintain the tradition
al attitude toward their land precisely because it is easy for absentee landowne
rs to continue to hold agricultural land thanks to various favorable economic po
licies provided by the government.
The main goal of agricultural land reforms is to remedy poverty, inequal
ity, and so on, as is often pointed out (Lipton 2009). In this sense, the goal o
f the Japanese agricultural land reforms of 70 years ago has already been achiev
ed, as Japanese agricultural workers have already attained economic self-suffici
ency. Also, at the time the agricultural land was redistributed, the inequality
in ownership was resolved. It can be said that Japanese agricultural land reform
s have fully achieved their goals.
The result of the agricultural land reforms of 1947 was to make haves ou
t of have-nots. However, after the agricultural reforms, the new haves obtained th
e powers that the existing haves had acquired. The ownership of land was stabilize
d and vested interests were granted, and even with changes in the social environ
ment, links were formed with political powers and land ownership was not affecte
d. In this sense, small-scale owners of agricultural land to whom the land was d
istributed after the war were in the same social position as landowners prior to
1947. Once the system was created, inertia took effect, and the system became e
ntrenched.