ABSTRACT
Environmental reform in Japan in the past twenty to thirty years has emphasized environmental standards, pollution control and other post-facto technical measures rather than anticipative measures for the prevention of environmental degradation. Concern has been focused primarily on human health impacts and only minimally on wider environmental protection or ecosystems. Public participation has not been encouraged, and development proposals have continued to carry more weight than those for environmental protection. The reforms that have taken place left the decision-making process virtually unchanged.
