U.S.-Japanese Agricultural Trade Relations

Emery N. Castle, Kenzo Hemmi, Sally A. Skillings

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781317371793
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Biological Sciences
• Subtopic: Ecology
• Index: Biological Sciences

First published in 1982, the editors and authors of this book examine the United States' 1973 embargo on the export of soybeans and its effects on U.S.-Japanese relations. Although eventually shipment of soybeans to Japan resumed, the embargo temporarily soured the friendly relations of the two democracies. This book, prepared by a group of Japanese and U.S. scholars, demonstrates how trade relations between the two countries are affected by their internal political situations and by the nature of their respective agricultural industries. U.S.-Japanese Agricultural Trade Relations will be valuable to scholars, policy makers, and others interested in agricultural trade. It should be particularly useful in courses on international trade and on agricultural policy.

II
Agriculture and Agricultural Policy in Japan and the United States

4
The Present State of Agriculture in Japan

Yoshimi Kuroda

Since World War II, especially during the 1960s through the early 1970s, Japanese agriculture experienced dramatic changes. These changes occurred not only in food consumption but also in agricultural production. In the process, a number of issues emerged. They surround economic growth and changes in food consumption patterns; economic growth and changes in the patterns of agricultural production; and an increased dependence on food imports. The objective of this chapter is to investigate in detail these major issues.

Postwar Economic Growth and Changes in Food Consumption

The changes in Japanese food consumption that occurred during the postwar years can be shown by examining changes in consumption expenditures for foods and changes in the quantities of foods consumed, In addition, some estimates of income and price elasticities of food demand are examined to give a quantitative basis to the findings.

Increases in food consumption expenditures¹

The Japanese economy as a whole has experienced very rapid progress during the last two decades, especially after the introduction of the Doubling Income Policy in 1960. During these two decades, the gross national product (GNP) measured in 1970 prices increased from 26 trillion yen in 1960 to 105 trillion yen in 1977, as shown in table 4-A-l in the appendix at the back of this chapter. This increase in real GNP implied an annual rate of growth of almost 9 percent. The per capita real GNP also showed a rapid increase, from 274,000 yen in 1960 to 923,000 yen in 1977, which implied a 7.5 percent annual rate of growth for the period 1960—77.

What happened to consumption expenditures on food during the postwar years? Table 4-A-2 presents the consumption expenditures per month of an average household in cities with a population of more than 50,000 persons for the period 1955-77. The table shows the following:

First, family size decreased from five persons to four during the period. This was probably because of a trend away from the extended family system during those years.

Second, the share of expenditures on food in total expenditures for an average household (that is, the Engel coefficient) decreased fairly rapidly from 47 percent in 1955 to 31 percent in 1977. The value of the Engel coefficient during the 1970s, 31 to 34 percent, is fairly comparable to those in other developed countries, although the share of expenditures on starchy food was much higher in Japan (Namiki, 1973).

Third, the shares of expenditures on housing, fuels and light, and clothing were fairly stable from 1960 through 1977, while those on miscellaneous items increased at a rapid pace for the same period. The latter may have been caused by a rapid increase in expenditures on education, health, entertainment, and transportation during the postwar years.

An examination of food expenditures for an average household in a little more detailed fashion offers a different picture. Table 4-A-3 gives both the nominal and real food expenditures per person per month of an average household for the period 1965-77. The nominal expenditure on food per person per month was obtained by dividing the total food expenditure by the number of persons per household reported in table 4-A-2. This was then deflated by the consumer price index for food (with 1975 calendar year prices being unity), yielding the real expenditure on food per person per month.

The nominal expenditure on food per person per month increased from about 5,000 yen in 1965 to 16,000 yen in 1977, almost a 300 percent increase. However, the food expenditure per person per month in terms of 1970 constant prices increased by only 1,600 yen from 1965 to 1970, but after 1970 it seems to have reached a plateau at 13,000 yen.

There are at least two possible reasons for this phenomenon. One is that in terms of value, the food consumption of an average household may have reached a saturation point during the 1970s, although, as is well known, the pattern of Japanese food consumption has been Westernized during the postwar years. The other reason is that an average household had been spending relatively less money on food in order to meet increased expenditures on education, health care, entertainment, and transportation, as well as savings. The second reason deserves more careful analysis.

Table 4-A-4 presents changes in the shares of expenditures on various foods consumed by an average household per month over the period 1955—77. According to this table, the expenditure share of staple food decreased from 37 percent in 1955 to 14.3 percent in 1977, whereas the shares of "subsidiary" foods and luxury foods increased steadily over the same period.

More careful examination of the changes in these shares shows a different pattern before and after 1973. On the one hand, during the period 1955—73, the share of staple food in total food expenditures decreased very rapidly, while the shares of subsidiary and luxury foods increased at a fairly steady pace. On the other hand, for the period 1973—77, none of the three shares showed conspicuous changes. In other words, in terms of expenditures, the food consumption pattern of an average household seems to have reached an equilibrium after 1973. Also, according to table 4-A-4, almost the same tendency exists for each item within the three categories. Nonetheless, at least three remarkable changes should be noted here.

First, the expenditure share of rice decreased from 28.3 percent in 1955 to 9.3 percent in 1977. Second, the expenditure share of meats, milk, and eggs increased from 10 percent in 1955 to 18 to 19 percent in 1977. Finally, the share of expenditures on restaurant meals, that is, "meals away from home," increased dramatically over this period, from 4 percent in 1955 to 12 percent in 1977. From these findings, we may infer that the food consumption pattern of the Japanese has been Westernized by reducing expenditures on starchy food and increasing expenditures on protective foods (foods high in proteins and vitamins), as well as by eating meals in restaurants.

Increases in consumption of protective foods

So far we have examined changes in Japanese food consumption patterns during the postwar years in terms of expenditures. Because how much is spent on a commodity is a function of the price and the quantity of that commodity, there are in general two factors that change expenditures for that commodity: changes in the price, changes in the quantity (or changes in both).

Although there are no data available for investigating changes in quantities of foodstuffs consumed by an average Japanese during the period 1955-77, there are the MAFF annual reports on "quantities of per capita food supplies" for the period 1955-77. Data from these appear in table 4-A-5. Assuming that this set of data reflects the quantities of foodstuffs consumed, changes in the food consumption patterns of an average Japanese during the postwar years can be analyzed in terms of quantities.

First, according to table 4-A-5, the quantity of rice consumed by an average Japanese decreased consistently from 105 kilograms in 1955 to 83 kilograms in in 1977. Also, the consumption of potatoes and sweet potatoes decreased over the same period. In other words, in terms of quantity, the consumption of starchy foodstuffs decreased during the postwar years.

Next, in terms of quantity, the per capita consumption of protective foods such as meats, milk, eggs, vegetables, and fruits increased from 1955 to 1977. In particular, increases in consumption of pork, chicken, and milk and milk products were remarkable during this period. Caused mainly by increases in consumption of pork and chicken, the total consumption of meats per capita increased from 3.3 kilograms in 1955 to 20.3 kilograms in 1977.

Still, the per capita consumption of beef increased only slowly from the level of 1.1 kilograms in 1955 to 3.0 kilograms in 1977. It is clear from table 4-A-5 that the consumption of meats as a whole in terms of quantity does not seem to have reached a plateau, contrary to the finding in terms of expenditures in table 4-A-4. However, the consumption of chicken eggs seems to have stabilized, and that of whale meat begun decreasing after 1965.

The above findings can be confirmed by examining how an average Japanese increased his caloric intake (as well as his intake of protein and fat) through changing his food consumption patterns (see table 4-A-6). The table reports the supplies of food per person per day for the period 1955—77. According to the table, the total caloric intake per day of an average Japanese increased from approximately 2,200 in 1955 to 2,500 in 1977. At the same time, the patterns of intake changed drastically during this period; that is, the shares of cereals, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and pulses in the total caloric intake decreased steadily over time, although that of cereals was still the largest (46 percent in 1977).

On the other hand, the number of calories from vegetables, fruits, meats, eggs, milk and milk products, sugar, and oil and fats increased very consistently over the 1955—77 period. The share of these foods in the total caloric intake per day by an average Japanese changed from 18 percent in 1955 to 44 percent in 1977. A similar tendency can be observed in the cases of protein and fat during the same period.

At this point, it may be useful to compare Japanese food consumption patterns with those in other countries in order to gain an international perspective. Table 4-A-7 presents the quantities of food and caloric intake per person per day in various countries, including developing countries (DCs) and less developed countries (LDCs) in the early 1970s. By examining the figures in table 4-A-7, one can note several remarkable differences in the patterns of food consumption between Japan and other countries.

First, although the level of consumption of cereals by an average Japanese decreased fairly rapidly during the postwar years, it was still high compared with those in Western countries in the early 1970s. We should add, however, that the total amount of cereals, potatoes, and starches consumed was almost the same in Japan and the Western countries.

Second, the level of consumption of meats by the Japanese was considerably below that of Westerners in the early 1970s, being only one-eighth to one-fourth that of Westerners. Furthermore, the per capita consumption of milk and milk products in Japan was also very low in the early 1970s comp...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Original Title
• Original Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• I Introduction
• II Agriculture and Agricultural Policy in Japan and the United States
• III The Making of Agricultural Policy in Two Democracies
• IV Agricultural Interdependence
• Index