The nation's main agricultural lobby approved on Monday a dramatic reform plan proposed by the Abe administration that will deprive it of the legal right to audit group cooperatives, thereby weakening its influence over how they operate.
The organizational reform of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives, better known as JA-Zenchu, is aimed at giving farmers a greater say in their own activities and improving productivity, although the jury is out on whether the latter target will be achieved in the heavily protected farming sector.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has argued the reform will give the more than 690 Japan Agricultural Cooperatives more independence and thereby strengthen agriculture.