ABSTRACT
The development of modern river management in Japan can be roughly outlined in three phases: (1) river channel improvement for flood protection, (2) construction of multipurpose dams for mediating conflicting priorities, (3) introduction of measures against extreme floods and for the improvement of river environment. It was a judging process consisting of problems posed by rivers and human reactions to them which were not always successful. The case of the Tone River provides for a good picture of that process.
