ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the evolution of environmental concerns as a policy issue in Japan’s domestic setting, in particular, the laws, institutions, and official policies that have developed. It examines several domestic policy actors inside and outside of the Japanese government to identify the major actors by evaluating their interest in this issue, their perspectives, their place in the foreign policy process, and how they can assert themselves in policy discussions. Since all foreign policies are domestic policies and the most important constituents are in the domestic setting, examining how environmental issues evolve in the Japanese domestic policy setting helps to illuminate the key forces that shape Japan’s international environmental policies. Following the end of World War II, industrialization and economic growth were the Japanese government’s priorities. Environmental consequences were ignored or accepted as inevitable side effects. Such abuse gave rise to many environmental and human tragedies throughout the country from the 1940s to the 1960s.
