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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2025
Japan is committed in principle to addressing global climate change and to bringing Japanese lifestyles, economy, and policies in line with the requirements of environmental sustainability. With the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the country became a global exemplar of efforts to control CO2 emissions. Subsequently, successive national governments have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to mobilize government, business and the citizenry in the interests of environmental protection. With a growing sense of crisis, tied to the reality of rapid climate change, the debate over global energy supplies and the conflicting imperatives of economic growth and environmental sustainability, the question of how to align national policy with ecological stewardship has become ever more essential. Japan's effort commenced with the now- standard approaches to reducing consumption, reusing materials and recycling products, producing some results but falling far behind goals and aspirations. This was followed by efforts to capitalize on the promise of science and technology-driven change. While national policy in Japan as elsewhere lagged behind political rhetoric, community level initiatives have been more effective in advancing the cause of environmental sustainability. Policies adopted and implemented in Osaka and Kitakyushu, two cities formerly synonymous with the environmental disasters of Japan's early industrial economy, illustrate the constructive potential of local solutions in addressing a global challenge, but also the structural obstacles to success.
1 Carin Holroyd and Ken Coates, Innovation Nation: Science and Technology in 21st Century Japan (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007).
2 Japan International Cooperation Agency,
Japan's Experiences in Public Health and Medical Systems, (JICA 2005), p.147.
3 Lovei, Magda and Charles Weiss Jr., Environmental Management and Institutions in OECD Countries: Lessons from Experience (World Bank: USA 1998), p. 33.
4 Ibid.
5 Environment Bureau, Osaka City Government, “Environment in Osaka City,” 2009.
6 Environment Bureau, Osaka City Government, “Environment in Osaka City,” 2011.
7 City of Osaka, “Developing Low-Carbon Cities: Environmental Change and Metropolitan Responsibility,” ppt, December 2010.
8 City of Osaka, “Environment Vision of Osaka,” March 2011.
9 Max Ahamn, “Government policy and the development of electric vehicles in Japan,” Energy Policy 34 (2006) pp. 422-443.
10 “Start your electric motors”, The Nikkei Weekly, Dec. 13, 2010, p. 1.
11 Osaka Prefectural Government, “Brand-New Osaka”
12 Lin Su-Chin, “EV Demo Run Plan Launched by Osaka Prefectural Government”, Invest in Taiwan, January 5, 2012.
13 Interview with Mr. Yuichi Maeno, Osaska Prefectural Government, December 22, 2010.
14 Interview with Mr. Yuichi Maeno, Osaka Prefectural Government, April 20, 2012. Updated information supplied in email correspondence on October 10, 2012.
15 City of Osaka, “Developing Low-Carbon Cities” powerpoint, December 23, 2010.
16 Interview with Mr. Maeno, Osaka Prefectural Government, December 22, 2010; Lin Su-Chin, “EV Demo Run Plan Launched by Osaka Prefectural Government,” Invest in Taiwan, January 5, 2012.
17 Osaka, Japan Statistics, Prefectural Comparisons, 2012.
18 Interview with Mr. Omakoshi and Mr. Tokumoto, Environment Bureau, City of Osaka, December 22, 2010; Interview with Osaka City Environment Bureau Managers, Mr. Tokumoto and Mr. Sazaki and Mr. Bono, Manager for International Relations, Office of the Mayor, April 20, 2012.
19 The City of Osaka, Invest Osaka - Economic Profile of Osaka City 2010-2011.
20 Interview with Mr. Omakoshi and Mr. Tokumoto, Environment Bureau, City of Osaka, December 22, 2010; Interview with Osaka City Environment Bureau Managers, Mr. Tokumoto and Mr. Sazaki and Mr. Bono, Manager for International Relations, Office of the Mayor, April 20, 2012.
21 Van Berkel, Rene, Fujita Tsuyoshi, Hashimoto Shizuka and Yong Geng, “Industrial and urban symbiosis in Japan: Analysis of the Eco-Town program 1997–2006,” Journal of Environmental Management 90 (2009) 1544–1556.
22 Osaka Eco-Town Plan Promotion Council, “Osaka Eco Town.”
23 Interview with Watanabe Tomihiro, Secretary General Sakai-Rinkai Ecofactories Association and Masatoshi Tanaka, President of Rematec, December 21, 2010.
24 Tour of the Maishima Incineration Plant, December 2010.
25 Interview with Mr. Mitsuoka Kazuhiko, Global Environment Centre Foundation (Chikyu Kankyo Centre), December 22, 2010
26 Team e-Kansai
27 For an overview of Kitakyushu's Eco-Model City initiatives and its current challenges, see Asia-Pacific Journal Feature,” Eco-Model City Kitakyushu and Japan's Disposal of Radioactive Tsunami Debris,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, vol. 10, Issue 24, No. 6 (11 June 2012).
28 Yamada Machiko and Suzuki Manabu, “Success Story from Industrial Pollution and Research on Present Environmental Problems in Dokai Bay, Kitakyushu Japan,” Proceedings of the Twelfth (2002) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Kitakyushu Japan May 2002.
29 Pradyumna P. Karan, Japan in the 21st Century: Environment, Economy and Society, University Press of Kentucky, 2005.
30 Ibid
31 Yamada Machiko and Suzuki Manabu, “Success Story from Industrial Pollution and Research on Present Environmental Problems in Dokai Bay, Kitakyushu Japan,” Proceedings of the Twelfth (2002) International Offshore and Polar Engineering Conference, Kitakyushu Japan May 2002.
32 Link
33 Sato Meiji, Eco Town Office, Kyushu Techno Research Inc. “The Concept of Eco-Town,” Presentation at East and East South Asia BAT/BEP Forum Annual Board Meeting, Siem Reap, Cambodia, December 14, 2009.
34 Handbook of Environmental Measures in Kitakyushu City
35 Asia Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategies (APEIS) Research on Innovative and Strategic Policy Options Good Practises Inventory - Kitakyushu Eco-Town Project
36 Visit to Kitakyushu Eco Town, April 23, 2012.
37 Handbook of Environmental Measures in Kitakyushu City, “Creation of a recycling- oriented society with the Kitakyushu EcoTown”
38 City of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu Eco-Town Project.
39 Interview with Hashimoto Kenichi, Kanafusa Shinjiro, Hasegawa Junichi, Kyushu Recycle and Environmental Industry Plaza (K-RIP), Fukuoka, December 6, 2010.
40 Ibid.
41 Xiangming Chen, As Borders Bend: Transnational Spaces On The Pacific Rim (Boston: Roman and Littlefield, 2005) p. 118.
42 City of Kitakyushu, World Capital of Sustainable Development Report - Eco-Model City Action Plan, February 2011.
43 Regional Revitalization Bureau, Cabinet Secretariat, Eco-Model City Project - Sustainable City for Future, “Dynamic towns and cities reimagine the future of development.”
44 City of Kitakyushu, World Capital of Sustainable Development Report - Eco-Model City Action Plan, February 2011.
45 Green Frontier Kitakyushu, The Kitakyushu Next Generation Energy Park; visit to the Next Generation Park area April 23, 2012.
46 Visit to Hydrogen Town Project, Kitakyushu, April 22, 2012.
47 Cabinet Secretariat Government of Japan, “Future City Initiative”, 2012.
48 “OECD: Green Growth Model City - Kitakyushu”, The Mainichi Daily News, July 29, 2011.
49 Interview with Sunami Atushi, Cabinet office, February 2012; City of Kitakyushu, World Capital of Sustainable Development Report - Eco-Model City Action Plan, February 2011.
50 KITA
51 Green Frontier, “Kitakyushu Asian Center for Low Carbon Society.”
52 Link; Ishida Kengo, “Kitakyushu's Initiatives to Create Low Carbon Societies in Asia”, International workshop powerpoint.
53 D.G.J. Premakumara, Policy Researcher of Kitakyushu Urban Centre, IGES, “Kitakyushu City's International Cooperation for Organic Waste Management in Surabaya City, Indonesia and Its Replication in Asian Cities”, unpublished paper March 2012.
54 Ibid.
55 City of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu: Environment and Technology City.
56 City of Kitakyushu, Eco Tour Guide Book: Overcoming Pollution, March 2010.
57 Sangbum Shin, “East Asian Environmental Co-operation: Central Pessimism, Local Optimism”, Pacific Affairs 80 (Spring 2007), pp.9-26.
58 Ibid
59 Ibid
60 This section is drawn from Hosoda Eiji and Takamasu Hayashi, “A cross-border recycling system in Asia under the resource and environmental constraints: a challenging project by the city of Kitakyushu and the city of Tianjin”, Integrated Research System for Sustainability Science, April 2010, 5:257-270.
61 The Container and Packaging Recycling Law came into effect in 1997. With the Basic Law for Establishing the Recycling-Based Society, which went into effect in 2000, the government established a framework for both recycling generally (source reduction or waste prevention, reuse, recycling, energy recovery, appropriate disposal) and extended producer responsibility (EPR) for the recycling of the products and services they produce. The Law for the Recycling of Home Appliances went into effect in 2001 and was followed by laws regarding food waste, construction waste and end of life vehicle recycling.
62 Nakamura Hidenori. “Enhancing low-carbon development through international cooperation between cities in Japan and in Asian developing countries: Roles and activities for an international platform on low-carbon cities in Asia,” Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Discussion Paper, 2010, p.16.
63 Fujikura Ryo, “The Influence of Local Governments on National Policy-Setting Processes to Regulate Japan's Vehicle Emissions,” Environmental Policy and Governance, vol. 21, issue 5, September/October 2011.
64 Piers Williamson, “Largest Demonstrations in Half a Century Protest the Restart of Japanese Nuclear Power Plants,” The Asia-Pacific Journal, vol 10, Issue 27, no. 5, July 2, 2012.
65 For a study of local government efforts and responses in Shiga Prefecture, see Shimada Koji, “Policies for a Low-Carbon Society in Japan,” Environmental Policy and Governance, vol. 21, Issue 5, pp. 364-378, September/October 2011.
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