TPP11 and the Economic Revitalization of Rural Japan: The Effect of Culture and Consumer Preferences on Demand for Domestic Food Products
by Masao Kawasaki
Category: Social Science
Abstract – This paper explores the extent to which Japan’s involvement in the TPP11 impacts the economic revitalization of rural Japanese communities through the treaty’s influences on the domestic agricultural sector. In analyzing the various factors that influence the TPP11’s effect on Japan’s rural communities, the findings from this paper show that an increase in imports from other TPP member states is not expected to phase out domestic production completely, nor will it hasten the dwindling of already-shrinking towns across the nation. Rather, most domestic producers will be able to compete with a new wave of imports due to the unique consumer preferences and food culture of the nation.