'Loosening the Ties That Bind: Japan’s Agricultural Policy Triangle and Reform of Cooperatives (JA)'

The process of reforming the organization of agricultural cooperatives (JA) under the Abe administration in 2013-2015 reveals the extent to which Japan’s “agricultural policy triangle” still functions as a key element of government decision-making for agriculture. The triangle consists of Liberal Democratic Party agricultural “tribe” Diet members (nōrin zoku), bureaucrats from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and JA executives. The paper shows that while the “agricultural policy triangle” played an important role at key junctures in the JA reform process, the loyalties and links that had hitherto bound the three parties in an “iron triangle” of vested interest in agricultural support and protection have been eroded