H Jentzsch (2021) Harvesting State Support: Institutional Change and Local Agency in Japanese Agriculture Toronto: University of Toronto Press

Abstract

By analyzing the implementation of national-level agricultural policy from a local perspective, this book shows that practice at the local level is influential on the substantiality of policy changes at the national level. [...]the author tries to ‘move beyond the dual picture of change and stability’ (p. 9) in Japan's agricultural policies and, more generally, institutions. According to the author, the way in which a local agricultural regime is organized is largely determined by its integration with village institutions, which point to ‘local social ties and (hamlet-based) norms and practices’ (p. 85). [...]this book brings social network analysis back into the study of Japanese politics. [...]this book leads us to reassess the iron triangle of Japanese agriculture, which has been used to describe the close political relationship among three actors – politicians, bureaucrats, and industry.