| Japan | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Location | Eastern Asia, island chain between the North Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, east of the Korean Peninsula | ||||||||||||||||||
| National websites | Prime Minister's Official Residence | ||||||||||||||||||
| Embassy / Chancery in U.S. | Ambassador
Kunihiko SAITO chancery: 2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6700 FAX: [1] (202) 328-2187 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York, Portland (Oregon), San Francisco, and Seattle consulate(s): Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands) |
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| Agencies responsible for biological inventory and conservation | Wildlife Protection Division, Nature Conservation Bureau, Environment Agency, Kasumigaseki 1-2-2, Chidoya-ku, Tokyo 100, Japan (Tel +81 3 3581 1709, Fax +81 3 3595 1716, e-mail wildlife@eaneet.go.jp) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Non-governmental organizations concerned with conservation | Greenpeace Japan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Natural Resources | Japan has many species of flora and fauna, and many of those are endemic. It is a country known for its beautiful landscapes as well as its bustling urban areas. The island nation has had great success in implementing laws and policies to protect it's natural biodiversity. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Environmental and Conservation Issues | Japan has many environmental concerns and almost as many laws to cover them. Some of the major current concerns are air pollution causing acid rain. This sets off a chain of events that includes acidification of water habitats and damage to fish and wildlife. Japan is one of the major world importers of all kinds of fish and also tropical hardwoods. This is contributing to the loss of species in other countries. Japan has endless conflict over whaling rights. This is probably the issue for which they are most criticized. Japan has been accused of "exploiting a loophole which allows killing for scientific research." (see article: Japan lobbies for more whaling Wednesday, 7 April 1999 ) The country is also having many conflicts with Greenpeace, who Japan has been accused of trying to have removed from the International Whaling Commission because the group draws attention and international criticism to Japan's whaling practices. It has also been implied by environmental groups that Japan remains a member of the Whaling Commission, not out of concern for the well-being of this unique species, but for the purpose of formally opposing bans on commercial whaling proposed by the commission or its member nations and groups. (see article: Japan will not leave Whaling Commission) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Statistics | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Land area | 374,744 sq. km | CIA Fact book | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of forest | 251,078 sq. km | CIA Fact book | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of wetlands | (Sq. km) | CIA Fact book | |||||||||||||||||
| Area of territorial waters | 3,091 sq. km | CIA Fact book | |||||||||||||||||
| Population: 125,931,533 (July 1998 est.) | Density: | (336.05/Sq. km) | CIA Fact book | ||||||||||||||||
| Area protected (ha) (only areas >1000ha) at all IUCN levels: | Fraction of land area protected (%): | ||||||||||||||||||
| Major Protected Areas | List of
Major Protected Areas Japan Marine Science and Technology Center |
Information Center for the Environment | |||||||||||||||||
| Endemic Species |
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| Endangered, Threatened and Vulnerable Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Extinct Species |
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World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Animal | |||||||||||||||||
| Species listed on CITES Appendices | CITES-listed Species Database | ||||||||||||||||||
| Legislation | |||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered or threatened species | Law for the Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, the Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law, the Aquatic Resources Protection Law | ||||||||||||||||||
| Laws protecting endangered ecosystems | Law for the Protection of Cultural Property | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to CITES | August 6, 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Ramsar Wetlands Convention | signatory party, but date not available | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Convention on Biological Diversity | June 13, 1992 Ratified: May 28, 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to Migratory Bird Treaty | (date) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Member of International Whaling Commission | member, no date found | ||||||||||||||||||
| Signatory to other international treaties designed to protect or manage biological resources | party to:
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94 signed, but not ratified: Desertification |
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| Natural Resource Use | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fisheries | While Japan has many
laws that supposedly protect the marine life in their oceans, the country has come under
fire repeatedly for their practices in whaling and also for their use of
"loopholes" in international environmental protection treaties to continue the
fishing and whaling practices that have been globally banned. see above under "Major Environmental and Conservation Issues" for links on Japan's whaling practices. |
Sustainable
Development and other links above |
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| Forestry / deforestation | The University of Texas at Austin Eco-Law Project says that one of the main problems facing Japan's forests is "uncontrolled and unsustainable logging" noting that though Japan has only 2% of the worlds population it consumes 30% of the world's timber. Only a third of Japan's original forests remain, and the Eco-law Project predicts that if current rates of deforestation continue, all the remaining forest land will be gone within the next ten years. | Eco-Law Project --University of Texas at Austin | |||||||||||||||||
| Ecotourism | The following are some
examples of the eco-tourism programs instituted by the government to promote responsible
tourism and conservation of natural habitats. "Observation of mangrove forests in Iriomotejima Island Whale watching in Ogasawara Islands and Kerama Islands Benefits from the sale of "Hida Eco-passport", a guidebook to Hida region of Gifu Prefecture, is used to conserve nature and cultural resource conservation of the region. " |
Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Trade in wildlife products | Though Japan is a signatory to CITIES, it has been found that other newly independent Asian countries participate in the illegal export of endangered species products to Japan. | TRAFFIC Report | |||||||||||||||||
| Hunting | Hunting within Japan seems to be less of a concern than the promotion of hunting by Japan in other Asian countries, as noted in the previous section. Whale hunting is still one of Japan's biggest affronts to the cause of conservation. | see links under "Major Environmental and Conservation Issues" above | |||||||||||||||||
| Other uses of natural resources | |||||||||||||||||||
| Human Impacts on Natural Resources | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Air pollution | Air pollution from power plant emissions results in acid rain; acidification of lakes and reservoirs degrading water quality and threatening aquatic life. (paraphrased from Agenda 21-Sustainable Development) | Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Water pollution | Strict laws are in place governing industries' pollution and the use of agricultural chemicals. Japan has plans concerning the possibility of oil spills in its waters and also many laws governing pollution of both the ocean and freshwater supplies. | Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Development activities | "As a part of a
comprehensive and basic national plan for the management of land resources, Japan has
established successively the Comprehensive National Development Plan, which determines the use of land, water and other natural resources and the proper locations for industry, as well as the National Land Use Plan, which determines the basic framework for national land use. In addition to regulations concerning the prevention of pollution, conservation of the natural environment, protection of the historical environment, environmental impact assessment, and the relocation of industries, the Plan also addresses prevention of traffic pollution, the quality of water in lakes and marshes, and the creation of comfortable urban environments. Internationally, the Japanese Government has been involved in the intergovernmental Man and the Biosphere project of UNESCO, under which the effects of human activities and land-use on the eco-system were studied. " |
Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Introduced species | Inappropriate introduction of exotic animals is one of the primary contributing factors to the loss of Biodiversity | Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Legislation addressing these issues | The Rational Use of
Energy, the Promotion of the Development and Introduction of Alternative Energy, the
"Law on Special Accounts for Coal, Petroleum and Oil-Alternative Energy"
(currently, the Law on Special Accounts for Coal, Petroleum and the More Sophisticated
Structure of Demand and Supply of Energy) The Water Pollution Control Law -for water quality (updated as of 5/6/96), The River Act -management of water and other properties within the boundaries of rivers, and coordination of water usage in a severe drought (Updated as of 4/6/97), The Water Resources Development Law-for newly developed water resources (Updated as of 2/12/83), Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law Basic Policy for Areawide Total Pollution Load Control and Areawide Total Pollutant Load Reduction Plan under the provisions of the Water Pollution Control Law (for land-based activities), Basic Plan for the Conservation of the Environment of the Seto Inland Sea under the provision of the Law Concerning Special Measures for Conservation of the Environment of the Seto Inland Sea (for land-based and sea-based activities), National Contingency Plan (for oil spills) |
Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Restoration and Reintroduction | Information Sources | ||||||||||||||||||
| Programs for restoration of damaged habitat | "designation of protected areas, protection forests, protected forests of National Forests and Natural Monuments, development of new legislation for conservation of endangered species, and strengthening of management of protected areas, enhance ecosystem functions through restoration of endangered species habitats and damaged valuable plant communities and eradication of the Crown-of-Thorns Starfish for restoration of coral reef ecosystems" | Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
| Programs for ex situ conservation (captive breeding and reintroduction) of endangered species | "Ex situ
activities include Research and Development on artificial breeding of endangered species and their artificial propagation." |
Sustainable Development | |||||||||||||||||
Return to Endangered Species Protection around the World
Page compiled by Erin Kathleen Thomas as part of a class project in h90 "The Science of Biodiversity and Conservation" (Peter J. Bryant, Instructor), University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA