Research & reports
Peer-reviewed research and reports on community urban agriculture, food education, composting, welfare and more.
Theme
Critical findings
14 results
Composting behavior in Japan: an application of the theory of consumption values
2025Ana Catarina Morais, Akira Ishida · Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems · Japan
This research investigated factors encouraging Japanese households to engage in composting, applying the theory of consumption values (TCV) and evaluating hypotheses using ordinal partial least squares structural equation modeling. Findings indicate that household composting in Japan is influenced by social approval, behavior visibility, composting knowledge, convenience, interest in gardening/farming, and individual availability. Factors like emotions, gender, housing type, and household size did not significantly impact composting practice.
CompostOrganic cycleFood lossDIYDevelopment and Prospects of Community Gardens through Temporary Use of National Land
2025Naomi Shimpo, Sakura Yamada · Toshi keikaku hokokushu/Toshi keikaku houkokushuu · Japan (Tokyo)
This paper reports on the establishment of "Harajuku Harappa Farm," a community garden initiated by local residents on approximately 1,500m² of unused national land in central Tokyo. The project overcame barriers to national land use through multi-stakeholder collaboration, featuring experimental, shared, and educational plots with an emphasis on composting and local resource circulation. This case suggests the potential for temporary use of public land for environmental education, community building, and circular resource management in urban areas from an urban planning perspective.
CommunityPolicyFood educationOrganic cycleCurbing household food waste and associated climate change impacts in an ageing society
2024Shigetomi Y., Ishigami A., Long Y., Chapman A. · Nature Communications, 15:8987 · Japan
Demonstrates that per-capita household food waste in Japan rises with the age of the household head, reaching roughly three times higher for those 70+ than for those under 30, with correspondingly large differences in food-waste-related greenhouse gas emissions. It highlights the need for age-targeted food-loss reduction strategies in an ageing society.
Food lossOrganic cyclePolicyEconomics環境報告書（令和６年度）
2024東京都国分寺市 · 国分寺市 環境報告書 · Japan
Kokubunji's annual environmental report under the basic environment plan, evaluating urban farmland preservation, local consumption and biodiversity while documenting municipally supported programmes such as the Citizen Agriculture University and citizen farms.
PolicyBiodiversityCommunityFood educationOrganic cycleEvaluating occupational values in Japan's urban farming: A comparison between the Likert scale and Best-Worst Scaling methods
2024Runan Yang, Hironori Yagi · Cities · Japan (Tokyo)
A study investigated the occupational values of 89 certified urban farmers in Tokyo using both Likert scale and Best-Worst Scaling (BWS) methods. Analysis revealed that farmers highly prioritized relationships with consumers, while values related to nature and the environment were less emphasized. The BWS method offered deeper insights into farmers' values, uncovering subtleties that Likert scales may obscure.
CommunityEconomicsOrganic cycleThe governance of a community garden with a food cycle in suburban Tokyo
2021Shimpo N. · Urban Agriculture & Regional Food Systems (Wiley), 6:e20015 · Japan
A case study of a suburban-Tokyo community garden that collects neighborhood kitchen waste and returns it to the soil as compost, forming a local food cycle. It documents how the bottom-up founder sustained the garden, provided work opportunities for people with disabilities and food-education for children, and built links with welfare facilities, kindergartens, and schools.
CommunityCompostOrganic cycleWelfareFood education野村不動産が都内で農地貸し出しへ 家庭菜園向けに
2020日本経済新聞 · 日本経済新聞（Nikkei） · Japan
A Nikkei report on Nomura Real Estate partnering with JA Setagaya-Meguro to launch, in November 2020, a monthly subscription 'urban experience farm' for home gardening on over 2,000 sqm of productive green land in Setagaya. With about 200 plots of 3.6 sqm where residents and citizens take part from planting to harvest, it highlights how supported rental farming links the preservation of shrinking urban farmland with citizen participation in agriculture.
CommunityFood educationPolicyOrganic cycleノウフクJAS（障害者が生産行程に携わった食品の日本農林規格）
2019· 農林水産省 · Japan
Materials on the 2019 Noufuku JAS standard certifying foods and ornamental plants produced with the involvement of people with disabilities, raising trust and brand value for agriculture-welfare products via third-party certification; first certifications issued November 2019.
WelfarePolicyOrganic cycleEconomicsHealthFood Waste Recovery with Takakura Portable Compost Boxes in Offices and Working Places
2018Jiménez-Antillón, J., Calleja-Amador, C., Romero-Esquivel, L. G. · Resources (MDPI), 7(4):84 · Global (Costa Rica; Japan-origin method)
A field study placing the Kitakyushu-origin 'Takakura' composting method—widely diffused in Surabaya, Indonesia—as small portable boxes in university offices and workplaces in Costa Rica. Processing food waste from 45 staff over six months, it shows that low-cost, citizen/workplace-scale fermentation composting is viable.
CompostFood lossOrganic cycleCommunity我が国の都市型農園と農的活動の変遷に関する研究
2016Shimpo N. · 博士論文 (Doctoral dissertation, The University of Tokyo) · Japan
Doctoral dissertation systematically analysing the historical development of urban-type gardens and agricultural activities in Japan. Traces the emergence and evolution of diverse urban agricultural spaces—allotment gardens, community gardens and the like—forming the basis of Shimpo's later books and papers.
CommunityPolicyOrganic cycleFood educationAnnual change and temporal change of fertilizer component in rooftop garden thin substratum light soil
2012Takanori Kuronuma, Saori Hashimoto, Ryuta CHIMURA, Haruaki YOKOKAWA, Kazunori Sakamoto, Hitoshi Watanabe · Journal of the Japanese Society of Revegetation Technology · Japan
This study investigated the annual changes in lightweight soil in a thin substratum rooftop garden planted with Zoysia grass. No annual changes were observed in grass growth or soil physical properties. Soil organic matter tended to increase after construction, and nutrient salt content was comparable to golf course green soil diagnostic standards. However, nutrient salt levels in unused lightweight soil were significantly higher than after construction and decreased annually. No difference in nutrient salt content was confirmed with or without additional fertilization, suggesting the need for fertilization management tailored to the unique rooftop environment.
Organic cycleBiodiversityClimate change三富地域における持続的な循環型都市農業の課題〔論文〕
2011幸治 江口 · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
The Santome Area in Saitama Prefecture has practiced circular urban agriculture utilizing plain woods for 300 years, but urbanization, particularly in Kawagoe City and Tokorozawa City, is causing a significant decline in farmland and plain woods. While the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Saitama Prefecture promote urban agriculture and plain wood preservation, the plain-wood-utilizing circular urban agriculture in Santome Area faces specific problems. This paper identifies land systems, including taxation, as a central issue among these problems and examines the possibility of integrated preservation for farmland and plain woods.
Governance failureOrganic cyclePolicyEconomicsUrban–rural linkageAgricultural management in association with urban residents in the Metropolis of Tokyo
2003Takashi Watanabe, Makoto Yokohari, Ryuto Matsuzawa · Journal of the City Planning Institute of Japan · Japan (Tokyo)
This study clarified farmers' responses to agricultural activities involving urban residents in Tokyo. The findings showed that over half of the farmers engaged in agricultural activities in cooperation with urban residents, and those enthusiastic about such activities tended to excel in farm management. Furthermore, municipalities within the target area were categorized into three types based on the proportion of farmers conducting agricultural activities with urban residents.
CommunityHealthFood educationOrganic cycleVegetable Growing as a Teaching Material for Environmental Education : (1) Utilization of LISH (Low-Input Sustainable Horticulture) and Vegetable Garden as a School Garden
2000智 藤田, Satoshi FUJITA · Institutional Repositories DataBase (IRDB) · Japan
At Keisen Women's College farm in Japan, the potential of using Low-Input Sustainable Horticulture (LISH) and vegetable gardening as environmental education materials was investigated over 15 years, starting in 1984. The study found that 16 different vegetable varieties could be grown organically, but cucumbers, other fruit/vegetables, and Cruciferae were virtually impossible to grow organically. However, damage could be reduced for some varieties through specific cultivation methods, and the vegetable garden was found to maintain beauty even in cold seasons and provide a suitable hands-on learning experience for environment and food.
Limited or null effectFood educationDIYOrganic cycle