ABSTRACT
In 1970, Japan revised the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control at the 64th Extraordinary Diet Meeting and added soil pollution as one of the typical pollutions along with water and air pollution. In 1991, new guidelines for soil pollution, Urban Soil Pollution Control Measures, were set for urban soil. The Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Prevention Law is also active for agricultural land. The heavy metal concentrations in chemical fertilizer are generally low and they do not cause soil pollution. The Water Pollution Control Law was established in 1970 in Japan and set the guidelines for polluted groundwater. This law requires Prefectural Governors to survey the quality of groundwater periodically and report the results annually. Effectiveness of leaching was greater for a sandy soil than a volcanic ash soil. However, this may cause contamination of groundwater and surface water and it may leach nutrients from soil.
