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Lecture Outline:
Key Concepts: Detailed coverage of policy and environmental indices in annual Environment Agency white paper "Quality of the Environment in Japan"; policies which address environmental issues vs policies which impinge on environmental issues; Barrett and Therivel: by mid 70s "Japan had one of the most complete statutory frameworks for environmental policy and some of the strictest environmental standards in the world"; weak specific environmental laws at the national level during rapid growth era; responsibility spread between various ministries; inter-ministerial competition within a vertically fractured bureaucratic structure; role of local authorities in policy innovation in the 1960s; Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) versus the "iron triangle" of economic ministries [especially the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and big business [eg. Keidanren]) in growth vs environment debate in 1960s; regional policy in the 1960s and concentration/dispersal of polluting industries; fifteen "new industrial cities" and six "special areas for industrial consolidation"; pollution issue eclipsed by desire for regional equity; pressure from big cities for improved policy linked to rising affluence; threat from local political response to pollution issue to LDP hegemony; formation of pollution bureaus within the MHW and MITI; draft Basic Law for Pollution Control, advocating (i) protection of health over pursuit of profit, (ii) strict industrial liability, (iii) an administrative compensation fund, and (iv) an Environment Agency; passing of weakened version in 1967; continuing criticism in the cities; "Pollution Diet" of November 1970; and end to the "harmony clause; establishing the Environment Agency (1971); business success in maintaining a focus on post-pollution mitigation and compensation vs preventative measures; significance of "administrative guidance" as a means of implementation and subversion of intent; Tanaka Kakuei's "Plan for remodelling the Japanese archipelago" using concern over pollution in the cities to justify greater regional development and industrial decentralisation; negative consequences of Tanaka plan; oil crisis and shift of public concern back to the economy; institutional location of the Environment Agency; the problem of seconded staff and managerial turnover; many important responsibilities retained by other ministries; consequent distortion of behaviour of polluters; progressive weakening of Environment Agency's role in face of vested ministerial and private sector interests; erosion of environmental standards; standards as a tool of administrative guidance; 1973 Pollution-Related Health Damage Law and the "polluter pays principle; administrative compensation schemes; opportunities for subversion and avoidance; battles over the introduction of environmental impact assessment. Revision Questions: 1. "Japan's reputation as a leader in environmental policy, established in the 1970s, is no longer deserved". Discuss. 2. To what extend does Japan's experience with implementing the "polluter pays principle" demonstrate the inherent weaknesses of this method of pollution mitigation and compensation? 3. Account for the difficulties with the Japanese government has faced in promoting environmental impact assessment. Recommended Reading: Barrett, Brendan F.D. and Therivel, Riki (1991) Environmental Policy and Impact Assessment in Japan. London: Routledge, Chapters 4 and 5. Broadbent, Jeffrey (1998) Environmental Politics in Japan: Networks of Power and Protest. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, Chapters 1-3. Brecher, W. Puck (2000) An Investigation of Japan's Relationship to Nature and Environment. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, Chapter 4. Huddle, Norie and Reich, Michael (1987) Island of Dreams: Environmental Crisis in Japan. Vermont: Schenkman Books, Second Edition, Chapter 10. Tsuru, Shigeto (1999) The Political Economy of the Environment: The Case of Japan. London: The Athlone Press, Chapters 5, 6 and 8. Tsuru, Shigeto and Weidner, Helmut (eds.) (1989) Environmental Policy in Japan. Berlin: Edition Sigma, 1989, pp. 43-96 |