**Different waves of agricultural entry in different regions Late 1990s to mid-2000s**.

**Different waves of agricultural entry in different regions Late 1990s to mid-2000s**.

From the late 1990s to the mid-2000s, public works projects by the national and local governments in Japan were drastically scaled back due to the prolonged recession following the collapse of the bubble economy and the fiscal restructuring path. In particular, large-scale infrastructure projects such as roads, ports, and flood control decreased, and the local construction industry faced a serious shortage of work. This was especially true in Hokkaido, Tohoku, and the Sea of Japan region, where many projects were undertaken in response to snow damage and cold weather, and many construction-related companies sought to enter the agricultural sector as a means of survival. Vegetable and flower cultivation using abandoned land and horticulture facilities, which are in demand even in cold regions, attracted attention, and the government provided support for both agricultural promotion and regional revitalization. On the other hand, Kyushu and Shikoku, with their relatively mild cl
imates and the high weight of other industries such as fishing and tourism, tended to lag behind in agricultural participation. At the time, the national government was discussing issues such as improving food self-sufficiency and the shortage of bearers in aging farming villages, and the 2005 Special Zones for Structural Reform program was encouraging the entry of different industries into regional agriculture. These regional differences are the result not only of differences in climatic conditions and industrial structure, but also of a complex interplay of differences in the degree of dependence on public works, demographic trends, and the policy stance of local governments.