This handbook offers an exposition of the contemporary status of Japan’s environmental law, policy, and politics. The compass of ecological quandaries explored within this tome is expansive, encompassing issues pertinent to both natural and synthetic ecosystems, natural resources, and inorganic materials. Each chapter’s temporal framework corresponds to the postwar period, following the enactment of environmental statutes and the initiation of administrative institutionalization, situated approximately in the early 1970s. The central inquiry addressed in this compendium pertains to the extent to which prevailing environmental statutes and policies have contributed to the enhancement or conservation of Japan’s natural and synthetic ecosystems, as well as the resilience of its natural resources. The authors within this volume undertake an analysis to discern the causal factors behind the quandaries by ascribing them to the existence or absence of enforceable regulations, public involvement in policy formulation processes, bureaucratic fragmentation, pioneering regulatory measures, institutional obstacles, regulatory co-optation, rational cost-effective methodologies, scientific understanding, scientific communities, ecological commerce, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and holistic ecological plans and programs. Moreover, pertinent sections raise an inquiry concerning Japan’s ecological diplomacy, inquiring whether Japan serves as a leader, bystander, or obstructionist.

Ohta Hiroshi is Professor at the School of International Liberal Studies (SILS), Waseda University. He received his PhD in International Relations from the Department of Political Science of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University. He is Earth System Governance Lead Faculty and currently Japan Association of International Relations Councilor. Some recent works include: “The Analysis of Japan’s Energy and Climate Policy from the Aspect of Anticipatory Governance,” Energies (2020); “EU and Japanese climate and energy security” with Katja Biedenkopf, in Emil Kirchner and Han Dorussen eds., EU-Japan Security Cooperation: Trends and Prospects (2019); and Comparative Politics about the Environmental and Energy Policies of Major States: Make a Choice for A Sustainable Society (in Japanese) (2016).

Introduction (Ohta Hiroshi);
Part 1: The Environment and Development, Environmental Foreign Policy, and Environmental Governance:
1. The Sustainable Development Goals and Japan (Tarek Katramiz and Kanie Norichika)
2. Japan’s Environmental ODA (Mori Katsuhiko)
3. Japan's Law and Policy on Environmental Impact Assessment: Features of Current Legal Systems and Challenges in the Context of International Law (Koyano Mari and Masuzawa Yoko)
4. Public Participation in Environmental Matters in Japan (Okubo Noriko)
5. The Role of Japan’s Environmental NGOs in Environmental Governance (Mori Satoko)
Part 2 Natural Environmental Policies and Resources Management:
6. Biodiversity Law and Policy in Japan (T.i Akiko)
7. Japan’s Forest Policy (Fujiwara Takashi and Mori Katsuhiko)
8. Japan’s Fisheries Management Policy (Sakaguchi Isao)
9. Japan and Whaling (Sanada Yasuhiro); 10. Japan and the Antarctic Ecosystem (Okubo Ayako)
Part 3 Atmospheric Environmental Policies:
11. Japan’s Air Pollution Policies and Diplomacy (Ishii Atsushi)
12. Japan’s Policy on Stratospheric Ozone Depletion (Kubo Haruka)
13. Japan’s Climate Change Policy (Kameyama Yasuko)
Part 4 Nuclear Safety Policy, Disaster Management, and Industrial Waste Management:
14. Post-3.11 Nuclear Safety Regulation (Florentine Koppenborg)
15. 1F (Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant) Decommissioning Governance and “Place of Dialogue”: Comparison with TMI-2 (Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant, Unit 2) (Matsuoka Shunji)
16. The Contested Governance of Japanese Industrial Wastes: Policy Disputes Embedded in Bureaucratic Sectionalism (Watanabe Tomoaki)
Part 5 Energy Transition, Subnational Environmental Policy and Diplomacy:
17. The Energy Transition in Japan (Andrew Chapman)
18. From Smog to Climate Change: The Evolution of Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Air Pollution Policies (Hori Masami)
19. The Role of Local Governments in Environmental Globalization (Takao Yasuo)
Appendix: Chronology of Major Reforms in the Japanese Political Systems since the 1990s
Index