Agriculture is protected by the hardest of the so-called “bedrock” regulations. In discussing issues regarding trade liberalization, such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the structure of “manufacturing versus agriculture” is often mentioned. This is an erroneous characterization. What actually exists is a conflict of interests between small-scale farmers with vested interests protected by regulations versus new entrants and agricultural reformers. Even under the current situation in Japan, there is some agriculture that is still globally competitive. It is necessary to transform Japanese agriculture, which has been locked up by regulation and thereby weakened, into a strong growth industry.