ABSTRACT
For much of the last decade, the environment has been a very important issue in Japanese foreign policy. During this period numerous changes have been made in Japan's approach to environmental policymaking that have made it a far more visible and proactive player in matters of global environmental governance. In the early 1990s, the Japanese government determined that environmental protection should become an important pillar of its foreign policy. Given that at the time Japan was being widely criticized by environmentalists for its role in global environmental degradation, especially in relation to tropical deforestation, depletion of marine and wildlife resources, and destructive development assistance programmes, the changes in Japan's foreign environmental policy deserve attention. This chapter examines changes in Japan's environmental foreign policy and its approach to environmental governance, the reasons behind those changes, and the obstacles that remain to Japan being recognized as a global environmental leader.
