The financialization of food systems has become a defining force reshaping global agricultural production, distribution, and consumption. Beyond the broad notion of financial actors gaining influence in commodity markets, food system financialization refers to the transformation of food into a financial asset, where speculation, rent-seeking, and financial engineering shape prices, market structures, and food security outcomes. This process manifests in several ways, including speculative trading in agricultural futures and derivatives, the increasing role of institutional investors and private equity in farmland and agribusiness, and the financial restructuring of major commodity traders.

The consequences of food financialization are far-reaching. They include heightened price volatility, opaque supply chain governance, market concentration in the hands of a few multinational traders, and growing disconnections between producers and consumers. These dynamics exacerbate food insecurity, marginalize small-scale farmers, and shift the priorities of food systems away from public goods and sustainability toward financial returns. While these issues have been extensively studied in North American and European contexts, their manifestations and impacts in Japan remain underexplored.

Notably, Japan has a unique historical relationship with food financialization, having pioneered one of the world’s first formalized agricultural futures markets with the Dojima Rice Exchange in Osaka during the 18th century. However, contemporary financialization in Japan’s food sector has received little scholarly attention, despite its significance in shaping domestic and international agricultural markets. Japan’s role as a major importer, its evolving agrarian policies, and the financial strategies of its food corporations provide rich ground for analysis.

This symposium brings together international and Japanese scholars to critically engage with the evolving landscape of food system financialization. Key themes include: Speculation and Price Volatility (financial instruments), Market Concentration and Corporate Power, Financialization of Land and Production, and Regulation, Policy, and Alternative Models.

By situating Japan within global debates on food financialization, this symposium aims to advance theoretical frameworks, generate new empirical insights, and foster dialogue on policy alternatives. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to both academic discourse and practical responses to the challenges posed by financialization in food systems.

Dr. TAKASHINO Nina (Ritsumeikan University)

Dr. KEENI Minakshi（Tohoku University）

Dr. KUSADOKORO Motoi (Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)

Dr. FEUER Hart N. (Kyoto University)

Presentation 1: Government financial support for dominant meat processors and the global concentration of agrifood power. (tentative)

Dr. Philip Howard (Michigan State University)

Presentation 2: New forms of food systems financialization(tentative)

Dr. Loka Ashwood (University of Kentucky)

Presentation 3: The rice price linkage between Tokyo and Taipei during the 1930s: The consequences of rice futures trading through a historical lens. (tentative)

Dr. MAEDA Kiyotaka (Keio University)

Commentators: Dr. HIRAGA Midori (Kyoto Tachibana University)

Dr. YAGI Kohei (Kobe University)