ABSTRACT

Japanese climate policy is one of the most effective in the world. Not only is the country exceptionally efficient, but in 1998 it implemented the Law Concerning the Promotion of the Measures to Cope with Global Warming (Law Number 117). Through strong regulation and state control, Japan is working to meet its emission targets by the deadline stipulated within the Protocol. This chapter looks at Japanese domestic responses to the issue of climate change since the 1997 Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the Framework Convention on Climate Change held in Kyoto, Japan, during which the Kyoto Protocol was drafted. I examine the development of this “climate change regime” within Japan, following the country's responses to the Kyoto Protocol leading up to its June 2002 decision to ratify the agreement. Beginning after the Protocol was signed in 1997, I look at the various social actors involved in the political decisions regarding how Japan responds to the potential international regulation of global climate change. I conclude with a summary of the present status of the Protocol in Japan, and an analysis of which social actors are leading the Japanese climate change regime.