著者

盧 生奇 白武 義治

出版者

日本農業市場学会

雑誌

農業市場研究 (ISSN:1341934X)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.14, no.2, pp.33-44, 2005-12-31 (Released:2019-12-08)

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The food industry is deemed an important economic sector in Japan. In the case of many remote areas, the food industry, in combination with primary industry activities, has been recognized as a major economic sector, leading regional economies in terms of creating job opportunities. Recently, however, due to the continuing overall economic slump, the food industry in Japan has been facing a sharp reduction in the number of companies and overall labor force. In addition, after joining the WTO in 1995, Japanese food companies have been thrown into severe business competitions in the international markets. Moreover, the LDC might compel the food industry to invest in environmental conservation efforts by 2007. The imo-shochu industry, a traditional Japanese food industry related closely to regional agriculture, stands as a leader in many regional economies, in both production as well as sales. As such, examining the major economic factors by which the imo-shochu industry has maintained such sustainable development is of value. Through use of endogenous development theory, this study empirically identified these factors through an examination of the imo-shochu industry of Kagoshima.