THE SHIFT FROM THE RURAL LIVELIHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM TO A MOVEMENT IN JAPAN

Abstract

Rural communities have long endured poverty, and they continue to tackle the problems of depopulation, a declining birth rate, and an aging population in Japan. Some rural communities face a crisis of survival. The question of this study are how sustainable communities in rural areas are being created. This study examine the process by which rural women have transformed the Livelihood Improvement Program (LIP) into a movement. The process was to expand rural women’s activities to enable them to play an active role in their family, women’s groups, and their community. This expansion reflects the effects of the LIP in rural areas. The LIP was started by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in Japan in 1948 to develop self- reliant farmers. The women tried to find solutions to their problems using LIP approaches including problem-solving and the three-by-five cognitive method in group discussions. The LIP was a long-term program and officially ended in 2004. However, the LIP has been continued as a movement for the sustainable development of their community by the women. This study focuses on a case study at the community level involving an update of the LIP program in Yamaguchi Prefecture. The analysis is based on a literature review, secondary and historical data, and fieldwork carried out between 2004 and 2020. From a medium- to long-term viewpoint, their self-confidence improved and they became self-reliant famers. Now women in the older generations are creating employment opportunities through community businesses so that the younger generations may choose to remain in the rural areas in the future. There has been an increasing tendency for young people who moved to the cities to study or work to return to their hometowns. This study found that the most important aspects in susutainable community development are people’s initiative, identity, and pride.