Urban Agriculture in Japan and China: Trends and Policies

This chapter explains the trends and policies of urban agriculture in Japan and China by focusing on two megacities of Tokyo and Shanghai. Urban planning in the two cities is compared from the aspects of slogan, vision, approach, and the position of urban agriculture in it. As for the urban agriculture in Japan, the Basic Law for the Promotion of Urban Agriculture was enacted in 2015 with the aim of contributing to the formation of a favorable urban environment through the stable continuation of urban agriculture and the exertion of multiple functions. In recent years, the movement of businesses related to urban agriculture managed by non-farmers/corporate and social enterprises has been increasing, and the cases involving a large number of stakeholders are increasing in Tokyo. On the other hand, the concept of urban agriculture was introduced in China around 1990s, Chinese scholars have studied it for decades combining it with the Chinese context since then. There are three types of urban agriculture in China: small-scale urban agriculture, capital-intensive urban agriculture, and tourism-type urban agriculture (Luehr et al, Thornton A, Urban democracy and governance in north and south. Palgrave Macmillan, 2020). In recent years, urban agriculture policies in Shanghai have been planned and implemented with an emphasis on demonstrating multi-functionality of agriculture.