by Christian Ditzler

As one of the leading countries struggling with a shrinking and aging population, Japan is facing serious challenges such as rural depopulation and the decline of local industries. Many businesses face an uncertain future when it comes to finding a potential successor, and this issue is particularly evident in the agricultural sector, where the average age of farmers in Japan has reached the age of 68 (Schaede & Shimizu, 2022, p. 18). This sector, traditionally characterized by long hours and strenuous labor, is desperately in need of young and educated workers—an increasingly scarce resource. However, Digital Transformation (DX) – a prevalent term in the vocabulary of any modern Japanese politician – is in the process of revolutionizing countless sectors in Japan offering new solutions to these pressing issues. Introduced by the Japanese government in 2022, the “Digital Rural City State Concept” (dejitaru denen toshi kokka kōsō) underscores the significance assigned to DX, as it is a broad strategy designed to invigorate rural regions through the promotion of innovative technologies. At the same time, DX has given rise to what the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) calls “smart agriculture” (sumāto nōgyō), which is said to hold the potential to revolutionize labor-intensive sectors and breathe new life (and labor) into them (MAFF, n.d.).

Smart Agriculture
Copyright © Istockphoto

MAFF has defined smart agriculture as an innovative form of agriculture that incorporates cutting-edge technologies, such as robotics and information and communication technology (ICT), with the purpose of enhancing labor efficiency and improving the quality of production (MAFF, n.d.). The digital transformation facilitates the integration of large data sets (Big Data) into agricultural practices (Smartagri, 2019). This data, procured through devices like sensors, simplifies the interpretation of growth conditions and aids in the identification of diseases among other environmental variables (Smartagri, 2019). Moreover, automation through drones or other robotic technologies can be employed to perform labor-intensive tasks, such as pesticide application or harvesting specific crops (Smartagri, 2019). Although such robots have traditionally been limited to large-scale farms due to their associated high initial costs, gradual efforts are being undertaken to increase their affordability for future use at the level of the individual farmer (Smartagri, 2019). Vertical Farming, defined by its indoor, layered, fully regulated and automated environments using artificial lightning, serves as another example of smart agriculture (Schaede & Shimizu, 2022, p. 34). This approach maximizes output by controlling numerous crucial factors, freeing agriculture from geographical constraints, weather conditions and seasonal restrictions, thereby providing significantly higher yields compared to conventional farming methods throughout the year (Schaede & Shimizu, 2022, p. 18).

Analogue farming in Japan I
Copyright © Cornelia Reiher 2023

Concurrently, the digital transformation, often referred to as the fourth industrial revolution, has also resulted in the emergence of what MAFF has termed the new “sixth sector” (Schaede & Shimizu, 2022, p. 35). This sector synergizes all three sectors of an economy – extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, and services (or sales) – symbolized mathematically by the product of 1x2x3, hence the name, the sixth sector (Schaede & Shimizu, 2022, p. 18). Through the incorporation of new advances in production and the internet in the distribution of products, farmers can not only produce but also process and sell products directly to consumers. Furthermore, the Internet of Things (IoT) makes it possible to understand market trends and consumer needs, paving the way for cost-effective production, distribution, and sales (Smartagri, 2019).

Analogue farming in Japan II
Copyright © Cornelia Reiher 2023 

The potential of DX, and through it, the sixth sector, to revolutionize agriculture and spawn new business models has been exemplified by a farmer featured in the magazine “Turns”. Despite his lack of experience, he relocated to Yamamoto in Miyagi Prefecture to start his own business as a farmer (Inui, 2021). Drawing on the IT skills he had acquired from his previous job in Tokyo, he learned from local farmers and soon launched his own venture using a wide range of technologies (Inui, 2021). Sharing his data gathered through IoT systems, he facilitated a novel approach to integrating data into farming, which had been historically reliant on experience and intuition (Inui, 2021). By setting up a training program for prospective farmers alongside the establishment of a brand for direct sales of his own strawberry products such as wine, jam and sweets through online platforms and his own store in Tokyo, he managed not only to raise his personal standard of living but also to contribute to his community by attracting both tourists and potential farmers (Inui, 2021). This aligns with the ideal scenario as envisaged by MAFF that aims to expand the sixth industrialization efforts and actively connect agriculture with secondary industries like food manufacturing and tertiary industries such as tourism, thereby creating new value-added products, leveraging local resources, attracting young IT-educated workers and reviving local communities (MAFF, n.d.).

Smart Agriculture: Robots harvesting tomatoes
Copyright © Istockphoto

However, despite the demonstrated potential of DX, it still encounters substantial challenges in terms of large-scale application. Issues such as the high costs and technological complexities of new technologies (Smartagri, 2019), as well as intellectual property protection concerns still require solutions (Schaede & Shimizu, 2022, p. 37). Moreover, in the Digital National Garden City Concept, the Japanese government recognized the need to develop suitable agricultural areas, such as large plots of farmland to utilize automated agricultural machinery (CAO, 2022, p. 76). This plan also acknowledges the necessity of making adjustments in Japan’s numerous mountainous regions that complicate the use of such machinery (CAO, 2022, p. 76). Thus, it remains to be seen to what degree these issues can be resolved to facilitate digitalization’s potential contribution towards rejuvenating the agricultural sector and consequently, rural areas in Japan.

References
Cabinet Office of Japan. (2022). Dejitaru denen toshi kokka kōsō [Digital National Garden City Concept]. 
https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/digital_denen/pdf/20221223_honbun.pdf.
Inui, H. (2021). DX ga kaeru nōgyō to chiiki no mirai [Agriculture Transformed by DX and the Future of Regions]. Turns, 46,p. 54-59.
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan. (n.d.). Rokuji sangyōka to wa [What is 6th industrialization?]. https://www.maff.go.jp/j/nousin/inobe/6jika/attach/pdf/index-1.pdf.
Schaede, U. & Shimizu, K. (2022). The Digital Transformation and Japan’s Political Economy. Cambridge University Press.
Smartagri. (2019). Sumāto nōgyō to wa donna mono ka? ICT o katsuyō shita nōgyō no meritto to dōnyū no kadai [What is ‘Smart Agriculture’? The Benefits and Challenges of Implementing ICT in Agriculture]. Smartagri. https://smartagri-jp.com/smartagri/20.

*Christian Ditzler is a student in the BA program in Japanese Studies at Freie Universität Berlin.