Current topics

Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister Mr. Kitagawa delivering an Environmental Education class titled "Diversity"

ESD Photo Communication Project

The "UNESCO World Conference*1 on ESD*2" is just around the corner. At the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), we are taking this opportunity to accelerate our efforts in ESD.

The MOE's main efforts in ESD are:

• The "Challenge Project for ESD Programs in the Tohoku Region" to build upon the earthquake reconstruction efforts in Tohoku to instigate new approaches to ESD and to disseminate these for implementation throughout Japan
• The "Capacity Building Project for Sustainable Regional Development" to pilot 20 publically chosen model ESD programs at primary and secondary schools in all prefectures, and then to expand them into regional programs
• Follow-up on the "United Nations Decade of ESD" by holding a round table discussion chaired by Mr. Kitagawa, Parliamentary Senior Vice-Minister of the Environment, to formulate a proposal of measures to promote Environmental Education.

MOE is also working on projects such as the "ESD Learning Forum: ESD KIDS FES!!!," the production of an Environmental Education Book by the "Tripartite Environmental Education Network among Japan, China and Korea," and the "ESD Photo Communication Project."

We look forward to disseminating these efforts of MOE at the UNESCO World Conference on ESD.

The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) has announced the priorities of its budget request for fisical year 2015. The basic direction is to construct a society based on decentralized low-carbon energy, harmony with nature and sound material cycle. This will be done not only through environmental conservation measures, but also through measures to vitalize regional economies inspired by those conservation measures according to different natural environments and characteristics of the localities such as their urban- and rural-ness. More specifically, the following four elements comprise the main pillars of MOE's priorities for FY 2015.

The first pillar is disaster prevention and reduction based on the lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent reconstruction. MOE will work towards the speedy reconstruction and revitalization of areas affected by the 2011 earthquake by addressing environmental contamination by radioactive materials. It will also work on readying the nation for large-scale disasters in the future, assuming the occurrence of events such as earthquakes occurring directly beneath the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and Nankai Trough Mega-Earthquake.

Another pillar consists of the construction of new-generation local communities embracing a sound material cycle. MOE will work on the construction of local communities with a sound material-cycle by restoring natural cycles such as material, energy, secondary nature ("Satoyama," "Satoumi," etc.) and ecosystem cycles. Novel methodologies of environmental finance and community investment will be used for this. Simultaneously promoting environmental education, learning, and awareness will support the human development of individuals capable of creating such communities. Basic research on these measures will procure the foundation for the wellbeing of current and future generations.

The third pillar is the international deployment of Japan's successful environmental policy and technology in accordance with overseas demand. MOE will contribute to the construction of a sustainable global society through dialogues with key countries and intergovernmental organizations towards the establishment of a legal framework ensuring the effectiveness and transparency of measures against climate change. Early ratification of the Minamata Convention, through appropriate control of mercury within Japan and the provision of assistance to curb mercury pollution in developing countries, will also contribute to the construction of a sustainable society. We also hope to enable the leapfrog development of developing countries (mainly in the Asia-Pacific region) by transferring our advanced environmental technologies and fostering institutional and human resources development in ways suited to the respective context. Capturing the demand these measures create overseas will also facilitate Japan's economic development.

Efforts towards the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo make up the final pillar of MOE's measures in FY 2015. The environmental impact of these events will be minimized through e.g. introducing renewable energy, implementing the 3Rs, and smooth waste treatment. We will take this opportunity to disseminate our efforts to establish Tokyo as a top-tier "environmental city."