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Lecture Outline:
Key Concepts: Shift in 1990s in headline environmental issues and the motivation behind the state's behaviour, driven by the the Earth Summit of 1992; global environmental issues as challenge and opportunity for Japan; barriers to popular participation in global environmental movements (lack of immediacy and cultural barriers to appreciating rights of other species); Local Agenda 21 as an opportunity for reconciliation between state and people in the environmental arena; contradiction between the state's desire to project a positive image in response to externally derived "significant" issues, and the unpredictability of locally-driven processes: top-down vs bottom-up processes; two routes to prioritising top down ("sustainable development" in 1993 revision of the Environment Basic Law and local Environment Basic Plans, and national framework and steer for LA21); domination of experts, bureaucrats, and one-off opinion surveys over inclusive and participatory pproaches; failure to expand to address social, economic and environmental issues simultaneously; paradox that although Japan is the only nation to have experienced nuclear attack, it is also an active promoter of nuclear power; Japan's energy supply problems 1970-2000; 1960s economic miracle based on cheap imported oil replacing local coal; minor role of hydro-power; oil policy and problems after 1973 "oil shock"; expansion in natural gas; MITI's "Sunshine Project" (1974; updated 1993); problems of alternative energy sources; nuclear option as a safe and secure option contributing to environmental sustainability; Japan as a major player in nuclear power industry; light water reactors and the fast breeder programme; sustainability and security of uranium supplies; MOX (Mixed Uranium/Plutonium Oxide) fuel, role of Sellafield (Thorp); the 1999 BNFL MOX data falsification scandal; long term disposal problems and role of Rokkasho; vulnerability to earthquakes and tsunami; disposal of warmed sea water; problem of decommissioning. LWRs have a life span of 30 years, and can't then be dismantled because of radiation problems; lines of opposition to all things nuclear since 1945; the 1954 Bikini Atoll incident; nuclear opposition and security treaty renewal; finding a port for the Mutsu; power stations not subject to EIA; local opposition, often led by fishermen; compensation and central government subsidies for any community willing to accept a nuclear plant; opposition to nuclear power (especially amongst women) in aftermath of Chernobyl (April 1986); the Maki referendum; opposition to Rokkasho; cancellation of Chubu Power's Mie plant Feb 2000; international opposition (especially Greenpeace) to international shipments, especially of plutonium pellets, given risk of accident and terrorist attack; recent history of accidents; September 1999 Tokaimura criticality; excessive dependence in formal procedures to ensure safety; conflicts of interest in nuclear safety. Revision Questions: 1. "Japan's dependence on nuclear energy is a consequence of its own physical environment". Discuss. 2. To what extent can Japan's nuclear power programme be justified on environmental grounds? 3. To what extent do patterns of opposition to nuclear power plants in Japan conform to the pattern established in the 1960s by citizens groups opposing point pollution sources? 4. "Japan's response to Local Agenda 21 demonstrates the power of the state to set dominant environmental agendas". Discuss. Japan's Primary Energy Supply (% by Source):
Source of data: Nippon Kokusei Zue, 2000/2001 Edition Recommended Reading: Barrett, Brendan and Usui, Mikoto (2002) "Local Agenda 21 in Japan: Transforming Local Environmental Governance". Local Environment, 7-1 pp. 49-67. Brecher, W. Puck (2000) An Investigation of Japan's Relationship to Nature and Environment. Lewiston: Edwin Mellen Press, pp. 38-43. Hayashi, Akira (1995) "The safety of sea transport for radioactive materials". Japan Echo, 22-4, [available on web, at www.japanecho.co.jp ]. Lam, Peng-Er (1999) Green Politics in Japan. London: Routledge, pp. 80, 185-186. Masuzoe, Yoichi (2000) "Japan's nuclear disaster". Japan Echo, 27-1 [available on web, with three other related items on the Tôkaimura incident, at www.japanecho.co.jp ]. Matsuoka, Nobuo (1989) "Energy Policy and the Environment". In: Shigeto Tsuru and Helmut Weidner (eds.), Environmental Policy in Japan. Berlin: Edition Sigma, pp. 437-450. Samuels, Richard J (1987) The Business of the Japanese State: Energy Markets in Comparative and Historical Perspective. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. |
