3) Expansion of tourism industry increased the abandoned agricultural land:
During the last decade, the increase in abandoned agricultural land has become
evident. Agricultural land, particularly represented by rice field was seen as an
important part of traditional landscape of Shirakawa-mura. In 1976, Ogi-machi had
23 hectors of agricultural land, but it was decreased to 9 hectors total in 2000.
Among 9 hectors, an estimated 3 hectors of agricultural land are left uncultivated8.
Document analysis and interviews find that boost in tourism industry has changed the
attitude of local people toward agriculture. In 1980, population engaged in
agriculture occupied 17.7 % of total work force but it was decreased to only 1.3% in
20029. Many households own agricultural land for its additional income. Thus, it
is often the case that with increased business in tourism, many could not afford to
spend time and labor in cultivating agricultural land. Income from parking business
and souvenir shops give more profit than selling agricultural products and this reduces
people’s motivation to keep rice field cultivated. Other analysis includes: an average
size of traditional rice field in Ogi-machi is too small to introduce advanced machines,
and thus, rice production is considered rather inefficient. However, World Heritage
Shirakawa-mura Foundation considers this problem serious and started to introduce
experimental methods to cope with this current situation.