WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/AG/N/JPN/168 
18 August 2011 
 (11-4111) 
Committee on Agriculture Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION  
 
  The following submission, dated 11 August 2011, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of Japan .  The notification concerns new or modified domestic support measures exempt 
from reduction ( Table DS:2 ). G/AG/N/JPN/168 
Page 2  
 
  Table DS:2 
DOMESTIC SUPPORT:  Japan  
 
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction commitment 
 
 
(1) Full title of measure:  Measures to Conserve and Improve Land, Water, and the Environment 
 
(2) Domestic legislation reference:  Administrative Orders for the Measures to Conserve and 
Improve Land, Water, and the Environment 
 
(3) Detailed description of measure with reference to criteria, i.e. those in: 
 
This programme is classified as "Payments under environmental progr ammes" in Annex 2, 
Paragraph 12 of the Agreement on Agriculture.  A decline of the function of the rural communiti es associated with depopulation and aging of 
the population has been reducing the ability to ma intain shared resources such as irrigation 
canals, roads, and rural landscape.  This issue must be dealt with considering the increasing 
demand for the multifunctionality of agricultu re such as conservation function of the 
environment and landscape in rural areas.  In addition, increasing public concern over 
environmental problems has proved the need to make the nation's agriculture more 
environmentally-friendly. 
 
Under these circumstances, this programme provides assistance to community-collaborative 
activities and advanced farming activities with a view to conserving and improving the rural 
environment, as well as land and water resources. 
 
(a) Supportive Payment for Community-Collaborative Activities 
 
This government programme provides assistan ce to rural communities that undertake the 
collaborative activities to preserve and impr ove land, water resources and the rural 
environment. 
 
This programme conforms to the basic criteria of Paragraph 1 of Anne x 2 of the Agreement 
on Agriculture, as the support:  (a) is pr ovided through a publicly-funded government 
programme not involving transfers from consumers;  and (b) does not have the effect of providing price support to producers. 
 
It also meets the criteria in Paragraph 12 of  Annex 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture as 
follows:  
(i) The payments are provided only for el igible rural communities which fulfil 
the requirements prescribed in the Admi nistrative Orders for the Measures to 
Conserve and Improve Land, Water, and the Environment;  and 
 
(ii) The amount of payments is limite d to the extra costs involved in the 
collaborative activities of rural communiti es to preserve and improve land, water 
resources and the rural environment, such  as preservation of local biodiversity, 
removing silt out of irrigation canals, weed ing road shoulders, and improving rural 
landscape.  G/AG/N/JPN/168 
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(b) Supportive Payment for Advanced Farming Activities 
 
This government programme provides assistance  to farm groups that undertake advanced 
environmentally-friendly farming activities such as reducing the use of chemical fertilizers 
and pesticide by more than half in comparis on with conventional farm ing practices in the 
region.    This programme conforms to the basic criteria of Paragraph 1 of Anne x 2 of the Agreement 
on Agriculture, as the support:  (a) is pr ovided through a publicly-funded government 
programme not involving transfers from consumers;  and (b) does not have the effect of providing price support to producers. 
 
It also meets the criteria in Paragraph 12 as follows:  
(i) The payments are provided only for eligible farm groups which fulfil the 
requirements prescribed in the Admini strative Orders for the Measures to 
Conserve and Improve Land, Water, and the Environment; 
 (ii) The amount of payments is limited to the extra costs involved in the advanced 
environmentally-friendly activities of farmers such as reducing the use of 
chemical fertilizers and pesticide. 
 
(4) Cost of measure:   
 
Supportive Payment for Collaborative Activities: FY 2007: 25.6 billion Yen 
Supportive Payment for Farming Activities:  FY 2007:  3.0 billion Yen 
 (5) Date of entry into effect:   1 April 2007 
 (6) Period of application:  FY 2007 
 
(7) Product to principally benefit (if any individual products(s)):   None. 
 G/AG/N/JPN/168 
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  Table DS:2 
DOMESTIC SUPPORT:  Japan  
 
Notification under Article 18:3 of the Agreement:  
New or modified domestic support measures exempt from reduction commitment 
 
 
(1) Full title of measure:  Direct payment based on the historical reference amounts of 
production 
 (2) Domestic legislation reference:  Act on Farm Income Stabilization 
Administrative Order of Direct Payment for Paddy-Field Farming and Upland-Field Farming 
 
(3) Detailed description of measure with reference to criteria, i.e. those in: 
 
This program is classified as "Decoupled income  support" in Annex 2, Paragraph 6 of the 
Agreement on Agriculture.  Japanese agricultural structure has become increasingly weak ened because of shrinkage and 
aging of agricultural workforces. To reform  this agricultural structure, the Japanese 
government abolished many payments relate d to the price of individual products and 
introduced a new direct payment program for st abilizing agricultural management of core 
farmers.  
This program is carried out by  the government for stabilizing agricultural management of core 
farmers and the payment is based not on the current production but on the past production.  
 This program conforms to the basic criteria in  Paragraph 1 of Annex 2 of the Agreement on 
Agriculture, as the support:  (a) is provided  through a publicly-funded government program 
not involving transfers from consumers;  and (b ) does not have the effect of providing price 
support to producers. 
 It also meets the criteria in Paragraph 6 of  Annex 2 of the Agreement on Agriculture as 
follows: 
 
(a) Eligibility of the payment is determined by clearly-defined criteria provided in the 
Administrative Order of Direct Payment for Paddy-Field Farming and Upland-Field Farming. 
 
(b) The amount of the payment is based on production of upland crops (wheat, barley, 
soybeans, sugar beet and starch potatoes) in 2004 to 2006 and is not related to, or 
based on, the type or volume of production undertaken in any year after the base 
period. 
 
(c) The amount of the payment is not related to, or based on, the prices, domestic or 
international, applying to any production unde rtaken in any year after the base period. 
 (d) The amount of the payment is not related to , or based on, the factors of production 
employed in any year after the base period. 
 
(e) No production is required in or der to receive the payments. 
  G/AG/N/JPN/168 
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  (4) Cost of measure:  FY2007: 101.3 billion Yen 
 (5) Date of entry into effect:   1 April 2007 
 (6) Period of application:  FY2007 
 
(7) Product to principally benefit (if any individual products(s)):   None (Beneficiaries are the 
farmers who have a record of eligible production during the base period). 
  
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