1.3 Perspective of Regional Soil
Management
There are various regional soil management practices in
Japan, since each region has various climates, landscapes,
and soils.
The island of Hokkaido, in Northern Japan, is the most
recently developed (150 years ago) region in the country
(1869). The highly snowy central and southern areas are
used for rice cultivation, while the seasonally soil freezing
eastern and northern areas are grassland used for dairy
farming. The southern half of the island is covered by volcanic ash and has recently become a popular area for upland
crop cultivation and vegetable production.
The Tohoku region, located in the north of Honshu
Island, is the main rice production area in the snowy cold
part of Japan. The Pacific Ocean side of Tohoku was
severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of
March 2011, through the impact of a tsunami and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
operated by the Tokyo Electronic Power Company. Fruit
production and livestock production are thriving in cold
areas in the north and hilly areas covered with volcanic ash.
The Kanto–Koushinetsu region is located in the center of
Japan. The Kanto region, which includes Mt. Fuji, is covered
with Kanto loam (a volcanic ash layer) and mainly produces
vegetables. In the Koushinetsu region, the Central Highlands
produces fruit and livestock, and the Sea of Japan side
mainly produces rice on fluvial plains (the Echigo Plain).
The Tokai–Hokuriku region is located in the center of
Honshu Island. The Tokai region, located on the Pacific
Ocean side, is warm and has Red-Yellow soils. Tokai produces green tea and oranges. The Hokuriku region, located
on the Sea of Japan side, has warm summers and snowy
winters, and produces rice. The people in Hokuriku experienced “itai-itai” disease, which was caused by
cadmium-contaminated rice, and worked to eradicate it.
The Kinki–Chugoku–Shikoku region consists of the
Kansai region, located in the western part of Honshu Island,
and the Chugoku and Shikoku regions neighboring the Seto
Inland Sea. The major agricultural management practices on
the Pacific Ocean side are a two-cropping system under a
warm and rainy climate condition, while fruit and warm-land
type livestock farming is practiced in the warm and relatively dry area around the Seto Inland Sea, and rice production and forestry are practiced on the Sea of Japan side,
which experiences warm summers and cold winters.
The Kyushu–Okinawa region is located in the southwestern part of Japan. The Okinawa region is in a subtropical climate. Rice and vegetable production is common in the
alluvial plains and reclaimed land of Kyushu, while sweet
potato and forage crops are dominant in its southern part,
which is covered by volcanic ash. Additionally, sugarcane
and pineapple production is thriving in Okinawa.
1.3.1 Land Use
The following is an overview of the properties of Japanese
land use referring to statistical data from the Japanese government (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
2018a, b; Forestry Agency 2018).
(1) Forests
Forests occupy 63.5% of the total land area of Japan
(37.8 million ha), and 41.0% of forests are planted forests.
Larch trees are planted in Hokkaido, and Cryptomeria and
Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) are planted in other
areas. The ratio of forest in urban areas of the Kanto and
Osaka regions is low (40%). This ratio also tends to be low
in the Kyushu–Okinawa region. The ratio of planted forest
tends to be more than 50% in many prefectures of the Tokai,
Kinki, and Kyushu regions.
(2) Cultivated land
In 2016, the area of cultivated land in Japan was 4.47 million
ha, which accounts for 12.0% of the country’s total land area.
A total of 54.4% (2.43 million ha) of the cultivated land is
paddy field, and the rest is upland cropping field (2.03 million
ha). Upland cropping field is divided into ordinary upland
cropping field (56.4%), orchard (14.1%), and grazing field
(29.6%). Of the total cultivated land area, 25.5% is located in
Hokkaido (1.14 million ha), 18.9% in Tohoku (0.84 million
ha), 16.2% in Kanto–Koushinetsu (0.72 million ha), and each
13.0% in the other three regions (0.60 million ha).
The total area of cultivated land has decreased by an
average of 29,000 ha per year, from 6.08 million ha in 1961.
The area of abandoned farmland has increased by an average
of 8570 ha per year since 1980, reaching 0.42 million ha in
2015 (9.4% of the total cultivated land area).
(3) Paddy field
Paddy fields are present in all the regions of Japan except for
the northeastern part of Hokkaido. In 2016, the area of rice
planting was 1.47 million ha, accounting for 33.1% of the total
cultivated land area. Of the total area of rice planting, 25.3% is
located in Tohoku, 20.2% in Tokai–Hokuriku, 18.3% in
Kanto–Koushinetsu, 17.7% in Kinki–Chugoku–Shikoku,
11.3% in Kyushu–Okinawa, and 7.1% in Hokkaido.
It should also be noted that 60.8% of the paddy field area
is now used solely for rice cropping. The rest is used under
1 Overview
7
Management
There are various regional soil management practices in
Japan, since each region has various climates, landscapes,
and soils.
The island of Hokkaido, in Northern Japan, is the most
recently developed (150 years ago) region in the country
(1869). The highly snowy central and southern areas are
used for rice cultivation, while the seasonally soil freezing
eastern and northern areas are grassland used for dairy
farming. The southern half of the island is covered by volcanic ash and has recently become a popular area for upland
crop cultivation and vegetable production.
The Tohoku region, located in the north of Honshu
Island, is the main rice production area in the snowy cold
part of Japan. The Pacific Ocean side of Tohoku was
severely affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake of
March 2011, through the impact of a tsunami and the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station
operated by the Tokyo Electronic Power Company. Fruit
production and livestock production are thriving in cold
areas in the north and hilly areas covered with volcanic ash.
The Kanto–Koushinetsu region is located in the center of
Japan. The Kanto region, which includes Mt. Fuji, is covered
with Kanto loam (a volcanic ash layer) and mainly produces
vegetables. In the Koushinetsu region, the Central Highlands
produces fruit and livestock, and the Sea of Japan side
mainly produces rice on fluvial plains (the Echigo Plain).
The Tokai–Hokuriku region is located in the center of
Honshu Island. The Tokai region, located on the Pacific
Ocean side, is warm and has Red-Yellow soils. Tokai produces green tea and oranges. The Hokuriku region, located
on the Sea of Japan side, has warm summers and snowy
winters, and produces rice. The people in Hokuriku experienced “itai-itai” disease, which was caused by
cadmium-contaminated rice, and worked to eradicate it.
The Kinki–Chugoku–Shikoku region consists of the
Kansai region, located in the western part of Honshu Island,
and the Chugoku and Shikoku regions neighboring the Seto
Inland Sea. The major agricultural management practices on
the Pacific Ocean side are a two-cropping system under a
warm and rainy climate condition, while fruit and warm-land
type livestock farming is practiced in the warm and relatively dry area around the Seto Inland Sea, and rice production and forestry are practiced on the Sea of Japan side,
which experiences warm summers and cold winters.
The Kyushu–Okinawa region is located in the southwestern part of Japan. The Okinawa region is in a subtropical climate. Rice and vegetable production is common in the
alluvial plains and reclaimed land of Kyushu, while sweet
potato and forage crops are dominant in its southern part,
which is covered by volcanic ash. Additionally, sugarcane
and pineapple production is thriving in Okinawa.
1.3.1 Land Use
The following is an overview of the properties of Japanese
land use referring to statistical data from the Japanese government (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
2018a, b; Forestry Agency 2018).
(1) Forests
Forests occupy 63.5% of the total land area of Japan
(37.8 million ha), and 41.0% of forests are planted forests.
Larch trees are planted in Hokkaido, and Cryptomeria and
Hinoki cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa) are planted in other
areas. The ratio of forest in urban areas of the Kanto and
Osaka regions is low (40%). This ratio also tends to be low
in the Kyushu–Okinawa region. The ratio of planted forest
tends to be more than 50% in many prefectures of the Tokai,
Kinki, and Kyushu regions.
(2) Cultivated land
In 2016, the area of cultivated land in Japan was 4.47 million
ha, which accounts for 12.0% of the country’s total land area.
A total of 54.4% (2.43 million ha) of the cultivated land is
paddy field, and the rest is upland cropping field (2.03 million
ha). Upland cropping field is divided into ordinary upland
cropping field (56.4%), orchard (14.1%), and grazing field
(29.6%). Of the total cultivated land area, 25.5% is located in
Hokkaido (1.14 million ha), 18.9% in Tohoku (0.84 million
ha), 16.2% in Kanto–Koushinetsu (0.72 million ha), and each
13.0% in the other three regions (0.60 million ha).
The total area of cultivated land has decreased by an
average of 29,000 ha per year, from 6.08 million ha in 1961.
The area of abandoned farmland has increased by an average
of 8570 ha per year since 1980, reaching 0.42 million ha in
2015 (9.4% of the total cultivated land area).
(3) Paddy field
Paddy fields are present in all the regions of Japan except for
the northeastern part of Hokkaido. In 2016, the area of rice
planting was 1.47 million ha, accounting for 33.1% of the total
cultivated land area. Of the total area of rice planting, 25.3% is
located in Tohoku, 20.2% in Tokai–Hokuriku, 18.3% in
Kanto–Koushinetsu, 17.7% in Kinki–Chugoku–Shikoku,
11.3% in Kyushu–Okinawa, and 7.1% in Hokkaido.
It should also be noted that 60.8% of the paddy field area
is now used solely for rice cropping. The rest is used under
1 Overview
7