Production of items other than rice is on a small scale, however, because of the shortage of farmers--only 5% of the working population was engaged in agriculture in 1996--due to the mountainous nature of the land, the lack of arable land (one-fortieth the area of U.S. farmland), and high production costs.

In 1996 Japan was 100% self-sufficient in rice; the figure was 86% for vegetables, 47% for fruit, 7% for barley, and just 5% for beans. The country is thus heavily dependent on imports to make up for shortages in domestic production. In 1996, agricultural products accounted for 14.5% of the total value of imports.

Photos courtesy of Tokyo Metropolitan Government.