1、1The Realization Path of Japans Agricultural Modernization and Its Enlightenment for ChinaAbstract. The per capita arable land area of Japan is little， the natural resources are lacking， its agricultural operations is decentralized and agricultural production model has the characteristics of the pea
2、sant economy. Even if there are many unfavorable factors， the level of agricultural modernization of Japan has exceeded that of many developed countries. This paper analyzes the development characteristics of Chinas agriculture and Japans agriculture comparatively. Based on the present situation of
3、China， we can draw on the following experience from Japan： completing and improving the agricultural legislation； improving the rural economy cooperative organizations； deepening the reform of the agricultural land property rights； increasing the governments direct investment into agriculture； bette
4、rment the agricultural technology spreading system. Key words： Japans Agricultural modernization， Land property rights， Promotion of agricultural technology 1. Introduction 2Agriculture is the core component of issues concerning agriculture， countryside and farmers， and the focus of attention of gov
5、ernment， community and academic circles. The level of agricultural development affects farmers income increasing， the harmony and stability of rural areas， and Chinas urbanization process. Currently， in most parts of China， the traditional agriculture is evolving into modern agriculture， that is to
6、say， Chinas agriculture is in the process of modernization. Modernization of agriculture refers to the process of transformation from traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. In this process， the agriculture always adopts modern science and technology， the means of production， forms of organiz
7、ation and the management methods of the modern economy， whose main goal is to improve comprehensive agricultural production capacity， narrow the worker-peasant gap and the gap between urban and rural areas， and create a good ecological environment， in order to achieve the sustainable development of
8、agriculture. The modernization of agriculture is the primary task of the new socialist countryside construction， and also an important foundation for Chinas new rural construction in the new era. Japan and China are very similar in terms of level of per 3capita arable land， and mode of agricultural
9、operation 1. After World War II， Japans agriculture has developed by leaps and bounds， with high level of modernization； its experience can provide a reference for Chinas agricultural development. 2. Comparison of agricultural modernization conditions between China and Japan Japans land area is smal
10、l， with great population density and small per capita arable land area， thus the agricultural development is faced with many obstacles and limitations. However， in more than two decades after the war， Japans agriculture developed by leaps and bounds， with high level of modernization； there are a num
11、ber of agricultural indicators ahead of those of other developed countries. There are similarities in the agricultural resource endowment and operating system between China and Japan， but in terms of agricultural infrastructure construction and agricultural operation level， there are significant dif
12、ferences. 2.1 Land property rights and circulation Since the Meiji Restoration， Japan has experienced two land reforms. The first began from 1873， and this land reform abolished the feudal lords land ownership， forming the relationship between landlord and tenant. The second land 4reform occurred in
13、 1947， and this reform limited the amount of land possessed by farmers. The government forcibly purchased the total rented land owned by the landlords who were not at villages and part of rented land owned by the landlords who were at villages 2， then transferred it to the farmers who have farming c
14、onditions. It provided that the ceiling of land rent must not exceed one fourth of the annual harvest volume 3. Agricultural land reform has made rural economic， social and political relations undergo great changes， paving the way for the modernization of agriculture. Land Management Law in China pr
15、ovides that agricultural land is collective ownership， and the collective owners can rent or transfer land use rights with payment in accordance with the law within a certain period； due to special circumstances， when there is a need to requisition all ones own arable land， it must also be approved
16、by the state departments. The relevant provisions indicate that the farmers only occupy the land use rights， and the play of right to use must be within the policy framework. 2.2 Agricultural operation system Japan and Chinas agricultural management system is both the typical “peasant economy“， base
17、d on the household 5operation. Japan does not take the large-scale centralized operation mode of land， but adopt the mode of traditional tenancy system for operation according to the specific national conditions. Thus the agricultural production mode based on household operation and dispersed land o
18、ccupation takes shape in Japan. The contract responsibility system was a practice in China， first adopted in agriculture in 1981 and later extended to other sectors of the economy， by which local managers are held responsible for the profits and losses of an enterprise. This system partially supplan
19、ted the egalitarian distribution method， whereby the state assumed all profits and losses. In traditional Maoist organization of the rural economy and that of other collectivised programs， farmers are given a quota of goods to produce. They receive compensation for meeting the quota. Going beyond th
20、e quota rarely produced a sizeable economic reward. In the early 1980s peasants were given drastically reduced quotas. What food they grew beyond the quota was sold in the free market at unregulated prices. This system became an instant success， quickly causing one of the largest increases in standa
21、rd-of-living for such a large number of people in such a short time. This system maintained quotas， and thus the element of socialist societies termed in 6China the “ iron rice-bowl“ （in which the state ensured food and employment）. The secret experiment proved very successful. In 1979 similar exper
22、iments began in Sichuan and Anhui provinces， both seeing dramatic increases in agricultural productivity. Deng Xiaoping openly praised these experiments in 1980， and the system has been adopted nationwide since 1981. In theory， the smallholder system can not bear the brunt of market turmoil and is n
23、ot conducive to the adoption of modern management and modern technology， which is incompatible with the requirements of agricultural modernization. But after World War II， it was this operating system that made Japan develop rapidly and achieve agricultural modernization 4，7. 2.3 Agricultural techno
24、logy extension system The agricultural scientific research work in Japan is mainly managed and guided by the Japanese Agriculture， Forestry and Fisheries Technical Meeting. The Japanese Agriculture， Forestry and Fisheries Technical Meeting， and its affiliated Affairs Bureau， are responsible for the
25、formulation of basic scientific research planning， research and development of agriculture， and coordination and management of policy and cause. At the same time， they are responsible for the liaison and coordination between 7agricultural administrative departments and research institutions 5. The p
26、ath of agricultural science and technology popularization： experiment researchers-specialized technicians- promoters-farmers. The grass-roots institutions of agricultural technology extension exercise the liaison and adjustment of popularization， guide the popularization affairs for Agricultural Imp
27、rovement and Popularization Center （Institute of Agricultural Improvement and Popularization）. Chinas agricultural technology innovation and promotion is usually led by universities， research institutes and government. The public-welfare agricultural technology extension service system， constituted
28、by the national， provincial， municipal （prefectural） ， county and township technology promotion stations， is the main body of the Chinese agricultural technology extension， and also an important channel for the conversion of agricultural scientific and technological achievements. The government-led
29、popularization and promotion launching model， selects the key technological achievements for promotion through establishing unified projects； organizes the 8practical technical training； sets up demonstration bases to attract farmers to visit and study； establishes science and technology service ent
30、ity for promotion； strengthens technical services to promote new products， new pesticides and other agricultural production materials. 2.4 Agricultural protection policy In 1961， Japan enacted the Basic Law of Agriculture 6， which was a sign of the Japanese industrial surplus beginning to return to
31、agriculture， and agricultural protection entered a new phase. In order to promote balanced development of industry and agriculture， the Japanese government has taken a series of agricultural protection measures： reducing the agricultural tax； increasing investment in agriculture； carrying out agricu
32、ltural land reform； providing agricultural credit funds； promoting cooperative and combined development of agriculture. In addition， during this period， the Japanese government continued to promote the construction of irrigation facility and water conservancy， advancement and promotion of agricultur
33、al technology. After the founding of the New China， China adopted some support measures and protection policies for agriculture， such as land reform， irrigation facility construction， promotion 9of agricultural technology， low-cost supply of production materials， and increase in agricultural credit.
34、 But the situation of stagnated agricultural development， weak foundation and backwardness was not fundamentally changed. Since the mid-1980s， it has abolished the unified purchase system of agricultural products， adjusted the prices of agricultural products， loosened control over food operation， re
35、stored and developed urban and rural markets， encouraged collective and individual farmers to go into the circulation area， and established robust market system of agricultural products. Since the beginning of the 21st century， China has paid more attention to agricultural support and protection， ab
36、olished the agricultural tax， and increase input to agriculture and policy support for agriculture， so that the competitiveness of Chinas agriculture is constantly improved. 2.5 Agricultural cooperation form and level Farmers associations are farmers independent， self-reliant and autonomous economic
37、 organizations in Japan 8. Farmers associations provide services for farmers， and form the community of economic interests with farmers. Farmers associations have agricultural instructors， who guide the farmers in production and management. Farmers associations are 10responsible for tedious affairs，
38、 and the farmers can concentrate their energy to engage in agricultural production. More than 99% of farmers in Japan have joined farmers associations. Farmers associations in Japan provide all-around services for farmers， which have effectively solved the production and living problems that single
39、family can not solve， overcome the limitation of small-scale household operation， and greatly improved the operating efficiency of agriculture 8-9. Chinas agricultural cooperative economic organizations originated from the cooperation movement in the 1950s， experiencing the mutual aid group of agric
40、ultural production， primary cooperatives of agricultural production， and finally the advanced cooperatives of agricultural production. With the popularity and promotion of the household contract responsibility system， the function of the cooperative organizations gradually fades out， and they exist in name only in certain areas. With the increasingly fierce market competition of agricultural products， the farmers are forced to improve the degree of organization， and join together to participate in fiercer market competition of agricultural products at home and abroad.
