Environmental politics in Japan

Examines the development of environmental politicss in Japan since the 1960s. There are over 20 000 environmentally related groups in Japan but little understanding in the West of how they operate. Some are national federations while others are local groups. Some are single issue campaigns, others promote a broader agenda. Some were launched specifically to address environmental concerns, while others turned greener as the environmental crisis deepened. The article attempts to classify them and set them in the context of wider institutional and regulatory developments. It concludes by examining the future prospects of the environment as an issue in Japanese politics.