Japan: Basics and Pollution Issues

Question 0

Economic development has been aggressive despite what?

Answer 0

Relatively little space

Question 1

Approx 70% of people live where?

Answer 1

Pacific belt from Tokyo to Northern Kyushu Island

Question 2

Japan has had to peruse sustainable development. Why?

Answer 2

A heavy concentration of people in a small land area made the pursuit of energy, environmental and economic practices challenging. Especially as pollution issues worsened.

Question 3

2 reasons why Japan has enacted some of the most stringent pollution regulations in the world?

Answer 3

1. Restricted space

2. Limited resources.

Question 4

What happened at the beginning of the Edo period (early 1600s) ?

Answer 4

Japan entered a period of self-isolation - it shut itself off from contact with the rest of the world.

Question 5

How long did Japan remain self-isolated?

Answer 5

about 200 years (Imura and Schreurs, 2005).

Question 6

How did Japan survive during this time?

Answer 6

Japan ➡ period of peace and stability.

The population was largely engaged in subsistence agricultural based work.

The country was largely divided and controlled by feudal landlords.

The relationship between man and nature flourished. Japan during this period was referred to as the model for sustainable development (Ishikawa, 1994).

Question 7

What happened in the mid 19th Century?

Answer 7

The west confronted Japan demanding it open its market. The west had military support.

In 1853 Japan abandoned its policy of isolation ➡ civil war until 1867. The Meiji emperor was restored and a new government was formed.

The Meiji restoration occurred in 1868.

Japan enters a period of modernisation.

Question 8

What happened to Japan’s economy post the Meiji restoration of 1868?

Answer 8

Japan enters a period of economic growth.

Follows western development as example. European methods adopted to promote economic growth (Imura and Schreurs, 2005)

Japan’s industrial revolution was a very real occurrence.

Question 9

What happened to air and water pollution during this time?

Answer 9

It became a serious problem (Imura and Schereurs, 2005)

Question 10

Pollution became a serious issues into the late 1800s as new factories, mines and smelting factories emerged. A classic example of pollution occurred where and when?

Answer 10

ASHIO COPPER MINE (Hitachi and Sumitomo become operational in the region)

along the Watarsee River - 100km north of Tokyo.

Post - Meiji restoration mine modernised ➡ becomes copper defining centre.
1877 - large scale production started. Farmers notice negative impacts. Can’t provide scientific evidence.
Caused: large quantities of waste water dumped into the Watarsee River ➡ damage of fish stocks and polluted water irrigating rice crops downstream.

Farmers complained - DIET member Tanaka Shozo took up cause. By 1901 situation awful - government intervened.

Question 11

ASHIO was owned by who?

Answer 11

Originally by the Tokugawa and had the largest output possible in the 1600s.

Mine closed 1800 but re-opened 1870s under private ownership.

PRIVATE OWNERSHIP = FURUKAWA owned (Shoji and Sugai, 1992).

Becomes the biggest mine in Japan (26% total production output) and for FURUKAWA mines (68% total production output)

Question 12

ASHIO and flooding (Notehelfer, 1975)

Answer 12

Heavy rainfall was an issue in the YANAKA village region.

Flooding was minimised by forest land but this was extensively deforested to supply the mines demand for timbre.

Village flood defences greatly reduced.

1890s - several incidents whereby heavy rainfall washed waste material deposited in slag heaps downstream causing considerable negative environmental impacts on top of the depletion of fish stocks.

Eventually in the late 1890s the government decided that FURUKAWA corporation had to install a safe containment area - led to the removal of YANAKA village

Question 13

What followed in the years following ASHIO?

Answer 13

Several environmental laws introduced but ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT championed.

Little done to address the issues of pollution.

Factory and a range of forestry laws and amendments introduced but rise of Japanese military to power (1929) = halt in growth of legislation.

Question 14

Did the FURUKAWA corporation take responsibility for the poisoning incident?

Answer 14

No. As early as 1897 FURUKAWA made clear that it would accept no responsibility for poisoning post the introduction of poison controls.

Any further contamination it said would be as a result from deficiencies during the Tokugawa control of the mine.

Question 15

What was the governments involvement in ASHIO?

Answer 15

Government ⬆ concerned about social movements. Made difficult their task of promoting economic development. Concern ⬆ also for social tensions spreading to other mines.

March 1887 - farmers protest in Tokyo - an obstacle to governments economic development plans. Mines ordered to contain waste material. The government refused to lend funds so smaller mines closed and were brought out by larger ones - e.g. Akazawa bought by Hitachi. Ui Jun, 1992

Relocated YANAKA village to build containment areas - villagers received little compensation (Shoji and Sugai, 1992). Farmers also compensated through tax relief. This made little difference to national government as taxes were paid to the municipal government - less money there meant less going into the expansion of local services. Farmers paid for their own compensation.

Hitachi developed technology to mitigate some of the impact but its impact was weak. There wasn’t the technology available yet to deal with pollutants. Ui, 1992

Question 16

The FURUKAWA mine closed when?

It was finally agreed the mine would…

Answer 16

February 1973

Finally in 1974 FURUKAWA were ordered to pay 1.55 billion yen and restore land the quality of poisoned farm land. This was the first time payment had been made to farmers beyond token donations.

Negotiations concluded behind closed doors - no media pressure to promote interests of anti-pollution protesters. (Shoji and Sugai, 1992)

Question 17

The war years did what?

Answer 17

Japan in similar industrial state as the West BUT infrastructure less developed.

Post-war - Japan’s Industry badly damaged + urban infrastructure also (Imura and Schreurs, 2005)

Japan occupied by allies until 1952 - impact on country’s industrial, environmental, economic and political regime.

Question 18

How did the government get involved in the post war years?

Answer 18

Strong governmental leadership was required to restore Japan’s industrial trajectory.

The MINISTRY OF INDUSTRIAL TRADE AND INDUSTRY had significant role in a schemes to restore infrastructure and strengthen the economy.

How? 1⃣ Financial assistance. 2⃣ Guidance
Both primarily to private enterprises.

Governmental involvement stems back to the beginning of the Meiji era but moved to the fore in the post-war era

(Imura and Schreurs, 2005)

Question 19

Did governmental involvement work?

Answer 19

Yes.

Economy flourished over the 1950s ➡

By 1960s GDP = ⬆ 10% per year growth

Industry continued to expand - ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES WORSENED.

Question 20

What were the primary energy sources during this period?

Answer 20

1950s: COAL

1960s OIL

Question 21

What happened in 1973 that caused Japan to re-think its energy situation?

Answer 21

1973 OIL CRISIS followed by another later in that decade.

Question 22

What were the issues with the use of fossil fuels?

Answer 22

Released pollutants: Sulphur oxides, nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide etc….(Imura and Schreurs, 2005)

Initially: black smoke viewed as a sign of strength - a strong and developing economy. However - pollution began to reach record levels = harm too human health.

Question 23

What was the most devastating form of pollution?

Answer 23

Air pollution (Yoshida, 2000)

Question 24

First recognised pollution disease was?

When was it?

Answer 24

Itai Itai disease

Started as in 1910 but continued through 1945

Question 25

What caused Itai Itai disease?

Answer 25

Increasing levels of cadmium deposited in the Jinzu river following increasing output from Mitsui owned mines in the Toyama prefecture during the Russo-Japanese war and WW1

Question 26

When was Cadmium determined as the cause of Itai Itai disease?

Answer 26

1955 by Dr Hagino

Question 27

What happened with Itai Itai disease in the 1960s?

Answer 27

Mitsui Mining and Smelting Co., Ltd were taken to court in 1968

found guilty of causing the disease in 1971 and ordered to pay healthcare costs for victims and cover costs of water monitoring

Question 28

Japan was among the first to experience the severity of issues accompanying the neglect of the environment.

What happened in Yokkaichi?

Answer 28

Major cities becoming characterised by high concentrations of air pollutants caused by industrial development.

1955: construction of the Yokkaichi petrochemical complex begins. One of three to be the largest upon completion by 1973.

Complaints by local inhabitants suffering from asthma and other respiratory illnesses emerge before completion of the first complex. Triggered by ⬆ particulate pollution in the region.

Government investigates - discovers sulphur oxide emissions in 1960 = 30x⬆ than today (Imura and Schreurs, 2005).
Automatic monitoring identified that levels SOx levels breached 1.0ppm almost daily - level considered unsafe to human health (Yoshida, 2000).

Epidemiological studies draw link - ⬆ asthma in affected regions.

Findings ignored by companies overseeing the complex who focused on expansion. companies denied link until 1967 when legal action was sought by those in the most affected regions.

Finally in 1972 - courts ruled the companies in charge of the complexes were guilty of illegal actions.

This set the foundations for the HEALTH DAMAGE COMPENSATION SCHEME introduced in 1974.

Question 29

The best known of Japan’s environmental issues was?

Harada, 1995 / Yoshida, 2006

Answer 29

Minamata Poisoning (Harada, 1995)

Minamata and Niigata

Minamata caused by Chisso Co. Ltd’s petrochemical complex. Waste material ŵ mercury compounds dumped into water sources. Mercury concentration ⬆ up the food chain. When consuming contaminated fish etc…health damage massive.

Poisoned the Shiranui Sea and Minamata Bay where approx 200,000 people lived.

Rumours spread of illness. Chisso Co, Minamata hospital and the Public Health Department launched investigation. They concluded 1956 that:
1⃣ Be found in children and adults
2⃣ First cases documented 1953 but likely to have been earlier
3⃣ Not contagious but in contaminated water

No doubt it was water contamination - only source ➡ Chisso Co.Ltd
Chisso Co.Ltd denied any responsibility + failed to enact countermeasures to limit future mercury deposits.

The factory employed 3,700 workers ➡ central to the local economy. One of the biggest and most technologically advanced petrochemical complexes in Japan. Produced fertilisers & industrial chemicals + more…

Complaints emerged as early as 1952 by local fishermen. Chisso Co.Ltd paid compensation to those complaining of ailments.

INDUSTRY AND ECONOMY OVER ENVIRONMENT AND POLLUTION.

Dead fish, dead birds, dying cats…

People feared eating local food…so incidents declined in the 1960s. Academics made suggestions to help limit the damage but they were ignored.

Chisso Co.Ltd hid experimental findings identifying issues. Officially there were only 2,200 suffered.

Contamination continued to 1965. Minamata disease identified in Niigata - MITI finally pushed into making Chisso install closed circulatory waste water systems.