The Japan Agriculture Group is much more than just a farm lobby. It is an institution that touches most parts of rural life in Japan. Its 694 local cooperatives provide many key services in rural communities, such as the distribution of agricultural products, banking and insurance. This collection of services makes membership attractive not only for farmers but also for locals living near cooperatives, who can join the group as nonvoting associate members. Currently associate members make up about 53 percent of the body's membership. The local cooperatives report to prefectural group federations, which in turn answer to Zenchu — the organization that directs all of the Japan Agriculture Group's activities. As the group's highest decision-making body, Zenchu has the power to direct and requisition funds from the whole organization and serves as the top lobbying body for the entire Japan Agriculture Group. In this hierarchy, funds from lower cooperatives flow up the chain, and instructions for both business and political activity flow down.
Agricultural cooperatives in Japan have had close ties to the state since the Meiji Era, when the cooperative system functioned as both a provider of services for farmers and a national monopoly for the procurement and distribution of rice. After World War II, the Japan Agriculture Group was set up using the assets of the wartime cooperative system and designated a special entity that both implemented policy and served as a policy consultant for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries. Privileged access to the ministry's bureaucrats enabled the lobby to push for policies such as high tariffs and large subsidies that kept crop prices high and small farmers in business.
Although the group serves a social purpose, it has profit-seeking motives similar to the Keiretsu, Japan's powerful conglomerates of interlocked enterprises, because of its agribusiness activities. Zenchu controls several national-level Japan Agriculture Group enterprises. The most important are Zennoh, the group's purchasing and marketing division; Zenkyoren, a mutual insurance federation with low premiums; and Norinchukin, the agricultural bank. These are very large enterprises that give the Japan Agriculture Group a sizable amount of wealth to use for political activities. To illustrate scale, Zenkyoren has assets amounting to $395 billion, and the Norinchukin Bank has deposits of $780 billion, making it the second-largest bank in Japan. These have become the group's most profitable businesses.
The lobbyist group's wealth and power makes it a powerful force in Japanese politics. The group has about 10 million members, nearly 10 percent of the voting age population. The group's hierarchical structure and deep involvement in rural life give it the ability to mobilize voters and to arrange demonstrations. Its endorsement is a highly sought-after asset for politicians. The impact is hard to quantify, but, during the 2012 election, 162 of the 194 Liberal Democratic Party Diet representatives elected had endorsements from the Japan Agriculture Group. As a result of the funds provided by its businesses, the lobbyist group can invest heavily in campaigns against politicians hostile to its interests, even in districts without a strong farming presence.
