The Quality of the Environment in Japan 2000, Japanese annual report on the environment was released on 31 May by the Environment Agency. The report emphasizes as the special theme the dawn of the "Environmental Century."
The paper states that humanity has reached a turning point; it is time to put the brakes on the deterioration of our environment and to truly promote sustainable development. One section describes past and new government policies and initiatives aiming to achieve these goals. The second major section goes into considerable detail about individuals and the importance of each and every person taking action: the role of individuals in environmental problems and society; the environmental burden of individual lifestyles; initiatives that individuals can undertake including green purchasing, funding and investing in environment-friendly alternatives, getting involved in citizens' groups, etc.; community-building; and partnership.
The paper shows how economic and administrative policies should take into consideration the coming social changes of this new century, such as economic globalization, the aging of society, and the information revolution. It also describes how personal life-style choices influence the whole of society, and how decisions by individuals affect corporate action.
In addition to covering a special theme each year, the annual report goes into detail on the actual state of the environment in Japan. This year it included statistics on air, water, soil, waste, chemical substances, nature and wildlife.
An English summary of the report will be available at a later date. Past summaries of the Quality of the Environment in Japan are available on the Internet at www.eic.or.jp/eanet/en/index.html

For a few years the Environment Agency has been promoting discussions in Japan about environmental accounting. In May the Agency released the year 2000 report entitled Developing Environmental Accounting Systems, which expands upon last year's Draft Guideline Disclosing Environmental Accounting Information. These materials have been developed with the input of experts from the government, industry and academia.
Environmental accounting consists of accounting procedures that companies and organizations can use to evaluate the costs and effectiveness of funds spent for environmental conservation. It is hoped that standardized approaches for accounting, analyzing and reporting will maximize the usefulness of environmental accounting to corporations and to society. Inside the company it is used as a management tool for managers, various departments in the organization, and all the personnel. Within society, environmental accounting can serve as a system to provide environmental information to the many stakeholders in society, including consumers, corporate suppliers and customers, investors, financial institutions, local residents, non-governmental organizations, governments, and the general public. Under the guidelines, examples of categories to be monitored and reported include these costs and investments:
(i) environmental costs for controlling environmental impacts that are caused within a business area,
(ii) environmental costs for controlling environmental impacts that are caused in upstream or downstream as a result of production and service activities, (iii) costs incurred by management activities,
(iv) costs incurred by research and development,
(v) costs incurred for activities in society, and
(iv) costs to respond to or remedy environmental damage.
The results or effectiveness of expenditures for the environment could be either "physical quantity units" suitable for measuring the amount of environmental impacts and the quantitative change and "monetary units" suitable for measuring business revenues and cost savings. Companies are encouraged to report in ways that allow comparisons between investments and their results. In addition, the guidelines encourage the reporting of results that can be actually measured, rather than hypothetical results based on assumptions. They also go so far as to recommend types of reporting forms.
The Environment Agency plans to continue improving the guidelines in the future.

Japan is making concrete steps toward becoming a recycling-oriented society. On May 26th the Basic Law for the Promotion of the Formation of a Recycling-Oriented Society was passed in the Diet.
The need for such a law is urgent. Each year about 50 million tonnes of household waste and 400 million tonnes of industrial waste are produced in Japan; recycling rates are 10 percent and 42 percent, respectively. Estimates in 1996 pointed out that Japan would run out of waste disposal sites in 8.8 years and 3.1 years for household and industrial waste, respectively. The number of cases of illegal waste damping rose by 4.6 times to 1,273 per year between 1993 and 1998. General consensus has been growing in Japan that it must transform itself from being a society of mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal, to a society which promotes efficient resource use and recycling at every stage, including production, distribution, consumption and disposal.
In recent years, some preparatory steps have been made, including frequent amendments of the Waste Management Law, the establishment of new laws on the promotion of resource recycling of waste packages and containers, household electrical appliances, construction materials and waste food. However, this new Basic Law for the Promotion of the Formation of a Recycling-Oriented Society is intended to take a major step towards overarching legislation to promote sound material cycles. The main components of the law are described here.
1. Clarification of the concept of "Recycling-Oriented Society"
Proposes the concept of forming a society that limits the consumption of natural resources and put less strain on the environment, by controlling the generation of waste, using the recycled resources and ensuring proper waste disposal.
2. Definition of recyclable resources
Defines useful waste as recyclable resources and promotes recycling of them.
3. Establishes legislation for priority of treatment
For the first time a law will legislate the priority of waste treatment: (i) reduce waste generation, (ii) re-use, (iii) recycle, (iv) heat recovery, and (v) environmentally sound disposal.
4. Clarification of Roles
Responsibilities of the central and local governments, corporations, and citizens are clarified. Clarified in particular are (i) responsibilities of the waste emitting corporation or citizen, and (ii) the general principle of 'extended producer responsibility' under which producers of products bear a significant degree of responsibility for the environmental impacts of their products throughout the products' life cycles including downstream impacts from the disposal of the products.
5. Government to prepare Basic Plan
Government (Environment Minister) is to draw up the Basic Plan on the foundations of this law, under the guidance made by the Central Environment Council.
6. Government measures to promote sound material circulation
A number of specific measures and regulations are identified in order to (i) reduce waste generation, (ii) clarify the responsibility of parties who produce waste, (iii) clarify producers' extended responsibility, (iv) promote the use of products made from recycled materials, and (v) obligate parties who have damaged the environment by illegal waste damping to bear the cost of restoring the original conditions.

The Environment Agency opened the Amami Wildlife Center in Kagoshima Prefecture in the southern part of Japan with an pref. Oopening ceremony was hold on 26 April and opened to the public from 29.
This center is to be a base for investigation of rare wildlife such as the ootoratusgumiWhite's thrush (Turdus dauma amami), Amami woodcock amamiyamagishi (Scolopax mira), and Amami rabbit amaminokurousagi(Pentalagus furnessi) that inhabit in Amami area and of the indigenous ecological system. And itThe Center will also promote thes preservation and multiplication propagation of rare wildlife and gives us variousprovide public information about them.
Opening hours is are from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.A.M. to 4:30P.M. Admission is free.

On 25 and 26 March, a festival of Junior Eco-Clubs from all over Japan was held at venues in Nagano City, the site of winter Olympics in 1998, with the participation of about six hundred members and supporters. Ms. Kayoko Shimizu, Director General of the Environment Agency also attended this festival.
On the first day, each club reported on the results of its activities for the year through 398 poster exhibits and exchanged information. On the second day, through seven "villages"-Light Village, Soil Village, Water Village, Wind Village, Life Village, Junior Eco-Club Village and Nagano Village-consisting of booths prepared by citizens' group and companies, a quiz rally was conducted for participants to learn about the environment in a fun way. The festival also featured interesting exhibits including low emissions vehicles and solar cars, nature craft classes and science laboratories. More information about the Junior Eco-Club can be found on the Internet at http:// www.eic.or.jp/eanet/kids/ecokids.html

With the release this April of the revised list of threatened invertebrates in Japan, a panel of experts completed five years of work revising the country's entire Red List of threatened species of flora and fauna.
The Red List is the basis for the Red Data Book, which gives comprehensive data about the habitat conditions and environment of these species. Using criteria of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the Red List classifies species that are critically endangered, endangered and vulnerable. The revisions of the Red Lists began in 1995, and resulted in the publication of new lists for amphibians and reptiles in 1997, mammals and birds in 1998, and brackish and freshwater fish in 1999.
The list of invertebrates just completed includes insects, shellfish, spiders, crustaceans　and others. In total, 423 species were evaluated to be critically endangered or endangered and added to the list, including the Yanbarutenagakone (Cheirotonus jambar), Hyoumonmodoki (Melitaea scotosia), Kawashinjyugai (Margaritifera laevis), and the Nihonzarigani (Cambaroides japonicus). The Red Data Book for invertebrates will be published next year. Red Lists are available in Japanese on the Internet from the Environment Agency website (www.eic.or.jp/eanet).
In addition, the Red Data Book of reptiles and amphibians will be published by the Japan Wildlife Research Center. A total of fifty species are on the list, including eighteen reptiles such as the Kikuzatosawahebi (Opisthotropis kikuzatoi), Iheyatokagemodoki (Goniurosaurus kuroiwae toyamai), and Semaruhakogame (Cuora flavomarginata evelynae), and fourteen amphibians including Abe's salamander (Hynobius abei) and Ishikawa's frog (Rana ishikawae). This Red Data Book may be obtained from the Japan Wildlife Research Center, 2-29-3 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0034.

The International Coral Reef Research and Monitoring Center was opened in Ishigaki City, Okinawa Prefecture, with an opening ceremony on 12 May and a commemorative symposium on the 13th.
This Center is to study and monitor coral reefs especially in eastern Asia, collect and organize conservation-related information, and provide news about coral reefs by Internet, among other activities. The Center will also support exchanges among researchers and governments from Japan and overseas, as well as coral reef monitoring activities. It is hoped that this Center will play a leading role especially in eastern Asia as part of a Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) according to International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI).

On 24 March a seminar on the Minamata disease was held in Beijing, cosponsored by the Environment Agency of Japan and the China State Environmental Protection Administration. Minamata is the name of a town in Japan where methyl mercury poisoning from a factory in the 1950s caused serious damage for health of many citizens. The incident also influenced the toughening of environmental pollution laws and standards.
Participants from Japan included victims of the Minamata disease, residents in the affected area, experts and academics, and personnel from local governments and the Environment Agency. They reported, from their own perspectives and experiences, about the influences of the incident on the local community, effects on human health and the process of identifying the causes of Minamata disease. Chinese administrative officials, corporate personnel and scholars also heard about the importance of preventing environmental pollution and taking prompt action when problems occur.

Nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions from vehicle traffic and factories are said to be a major cause of air pollution and acid rain. In 1993 the Automobile NOx Control Law was put into force in Japan. The governor of each prefecture which contains a specified area developed an Emissions Reduction Plan (E.R.P.) under this law.
The goal of these plans is to achieve Environmental Quality Standards (E.Q.S) for NO2 emissions in the specified areas by the end of FY2000. Prefectures with such areas include Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, Kanagawa, Osaka and Hyogo. A committee of experts established within the Agency recently released a report on the progress and problems with this policy. According to the report, it will be impossible to achieve the goals and greater efforts are needed to prevent air pollution caused by NOx emissions in the future. Below is the summary of the report.
NOx emission level: Only 60.8 percent of the monitoring stations in specified areas met E.Q.S. in FY1998.
Vehicle Ownership: The number of vehicles in the prefectures concerned increased by 20 percent from FY1990 to FY1997. Increases in use of diesel vehicles carrying freight, and growing proportion of heavy trucks are notable. In addition, vehicle traffic increased by 10 percent.
Emissions: Despite growing numbers of automobiles, NOx emissions actually decreased in Tokyo, Osaka, Kanagawa and Hyogo Prefectures between FY1990 and FY1997, although they still fell short of reduction targets. Emissions from diesel vehicles accounted for 80 percent of total vehicle emissions. Emissions from factories and industry decreased, but those from vehicles are still large.
Assessment of Progress: NOx emissions per vehicle decreased by 20 percent from FY1990 to FY1997 thanks to regulations on specified vehicles. The number of low emissions vehicles remains at only about ten thousand. Although each of six measures in the E.R.P. is being implemented (including strengthening of measures for individual automobiles, regulating vehicle types, promoting low emissions vehicles, and developing freight/passenger/traffic flow strategies) efficient methods still do not exist to evaluate the results of each measure by actual indicators.
Possible Future Strategies: Some ideas that should be considered to improve policies to tackle NOx emissions are listed below.