Farmers Agree with the Purpose of the Investigation into Farmland Speculation, but Worry About a Freeze in Transactions

Farmers generally sympathize with the purpose of the fullscale survey aimed at preventing farmland speculation and illegal leasing, but are calling for supplementary measures suited to actual rural conditions. According to reports on the 21st, with the revised Farmland Act requiring landowners found not to be actually cultivating the land or engaging in illegal leasing to dispose of their farmland within one year, farmland listings are increasing and transactions are declining. Some farmers complained that due to falling land prices and fewer buyers, sales have effectively come to a halt. At the site, concerns are being raised that falling farmland prices lead to lower collateral value, creating burdens for raising funds through loans and other means. There are also opinions that land that is difficult to cultivate in practice, such as marginal farmland where water cannot be supplied or steeply sloped land, requires more careful judgment when applying disposal standards. The government has introduced supplementary measures so that farmland can be retained even if one does not farm it directly, provided there are legally specified reasons such as old age, illness, or inheritance. However, farmers stressed that measures to expand the Farmland Bank's purchase function and protect tenant farmers must also be put in place.