Extent of Post-Neoliberal Aspects in the Revised Basic Law on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas: A Review from the Position of the Civil Society Organization

Japanese agriculture has been shrinking in terms of the number of farmers, farmland area, gross agricultural product, and other measures.The Japanese government has failed to prevent this decline, resulting in a weakened food supply.The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian-Ukrainian war have highlighted the vulnerabilities of this import-dependent diet pattern, as well as agricultural production that relies on imported inputs such as fertilizers and animal feed.The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) revised the Basic Law on Food, Agriculture, and Rural Areas (the new Basic Law) to address the adverse effects caused by the two incidents.Therefore, the new Basic Law is expected to reverse the trend of collapse.Here, the question is whether the new Basic Law can address this role.This paper examines how and to what extent postneoliberal aspects are reflected in the food security policies under the new Basic Law,