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ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES |
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It has to be said that first impressions of Japan's natural
environment tend not to be very positive. In the postwar era there has
been a massive shift towards an urbanized society, a society where
successful people move to the city not away from it and where, for the
younger generation in particular, contact with nature can be limited to
walks in the park with the dog. Cities sprawl in all directions, a
confusing mess of power cables and pulsing neon, with little evidence of
planning controls. When you do reach the countryside, electricity pylons
march across every view, cliffs are shored up with concrete and the
coastline consists of nothing but sea walls and offshore breakwaters.
This can partly be explained by the desire to control, or attempt to
control, the violent natural forces at play - devastating earthquakes,
tidal waves, monsoons, volcanoes - and partly the economic and political
might of the construction industry. In the words of one of Japan's
leading activists, Yamashita Hirofumi, "Japan's postwar development has
had a disastrous impact on the natural environment". Whatever the reason,
it comes as something of a shock. After all, this is the nation justly
famous for its cherry blossom and fiery autumn colours, which announces
the changing seasons on the national news and which prides itself on its
heightened aesthetic awareness.
However, nature does still play a pivotal role in Japanese life, as well
as its literature, art and religion. Spectacular areas of unspoilt
natural beauty are still to be found and there's a growing awareness of
the need to safeguard them. The best require a little effort to reach,
but even the largest cities contain important havens in their parks and
shrine gardens.
Catherine Whyte
(With thanks to Maggie Suzuki and Richard Wilcox)
Additional material by Jan Dodd
Fauna and flora
Japan has an extremely complex zoogeographical history due to the
continuous rise and fall of the sea level that repeatedly connected and
severed the islands from the Chinese mainland. Generally speaking, the
fauna and flora of the Japanese archipelago can be divided into three
categories: that of the Southeast Asiatic tropical zone, the Korean and
Chinese temperate zone and the Siberian subarctic zone.
The Southeast Asiatic tropical zone extends from Taiwan up into the
Ryukyu island chain (Okinawa). Wildlife typically associated with this
zone includes the flying fox, crested serpent eagle, variable lizard and
butterflies of the Danaidae family. Animals that belong to the Korean
and Chinese temperate zone inhabit the deciduous forests of Honshu,
Shikoku and Kyushu, the most common of which are the racoon dog, sika
deer and mandarin duck. If you're lucky, you'll see the rarer yellow
marten, badger and flying squirrel, while - looking out to sea in
central Honshu - you may also spot sea lions and fur seals. The Siberian
sub-arctic zone covers the coniferous forests of Hokkaido, inhabited by
the brown bear, rabbit-like pika, hazel grouse, common lizard, arctic
hare and nine-spined stickleback, amongst others.
In addition, the archipelago contains a number of endemic species such
as the Japanese macaque, Japanese dormouse, copper pheasant, giant
salamander, primitive dragonfly, Pryer's woodpecker and Amami spiny
mouse, all of which are now relatively rare. Japan is also home to a
number of "living fossils", animals whose characteristics differ from
more developed species- such as the critically endangered Amami rabbit
and Iriomote wild cat (both native to the Ryukyu Islands), the frilled
shark and the horseshoe crab of Sagami Bay, off Kamakura. Another animal
worthy of mention is the freshwater spider crab, the world's largest
crustacean, with an awe-inspiring clawspan of up to 3.7m.
Unless you get off the beaten track, contact with wildlife may well be
limited to a less inspiring selection of English sparrows, pigeons,
cockroaches and the ubiquitous crow. Smaller urban areas (and indeed the
suburbs of the larger ones) do, however, offer plenty of hidden
treasures for the wildlife enthusiast. Racoon dogs , or tanuki , with
their waddling gait, come out at night to forage for food. They are an
integral part of Japanese folklore, in which they are believed to have
supernatural powers and make all sorts of mischief; they are always
depicted as big-bellied, with huge testicles and a bottle of sake. Foxes,
too, are widespread and were believed to possess people - fox (or Inari)
shrines are found across the country.
Monkeys are also common in some areas, such as Wakinosawa and Shiga
Kogen , while wild boar occasionally make an appearance in outer urban
areas, though fortunately these forbidding-looking creatures avoid human
contact and are generally heard but not seen. Kites, cranes, herons,
cormorants and migratory seagulls can often be seen around lakes and
rivers, while the steamy summer brings an onslaught of insects, none
more so than the semi , or cicada , whose wailing provides a constant
background symphony.
Fish
Japan's seas and rivers contain around 3000 species of fish . The waters
around the Ryukyu Islands are home to subtropical anemone fish, parrot
fish, wrass and spiny lobster as well as numerous species of shark,
turtle and whale. The ocean south of Shikoku and Honshu teems with life,
from loggerhead turtles and butterfly fish to dugongs and porpoises,
while the colder waters washing around Hokkaido bring with them some of
the larger whale species - humpback, grey and blue whale - from the
Bering Sea and north Pacific.
Ocean currents play a crucial role in this diversity. Warm water flowing
round Taiwan and up through the Ryukyu island chain splits into two upon
reaching the island of Kyushu. The branch flowing north into the Sea of
Japan, between Japan and China, is known as the Tsushima-shio, while the
Kuro-shio or "Black current" follows the more easterly route. Bearing
down from the north, hitting Hokkaido's northern and eastern shores,
comes the cold, nutrient-rich Oya-shio or Kuril current. Where it meets
the Kuro-shio off northeastern Honshu, abundant plankton and the
mingling of cold- and warm-water species create one of the richest
fishing grounds in the entire world.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that
Japan consumes thirty percent of the world's fresh fish. To offset
problems caused by over-fishing , the Japanese fishing fleet has been
cut by a quarter in recent years. This has not, however, stopped the
import of fish into Japan from other Southeast Asian countries which,
for their own economic reasons, are less concerned about protecting fish
stocks.
Tokyo's crows
The incessant cawing of big, black jungle crows is one of the most
familiar sounds of many Japanese cities, but particularly in Tokyo where,
according to one recent survey, the population has exploded from 7000
birds in 1985 to 21,000 in 2000. Whether this is an overall increase or
merely reflects a greater tendency for crows to congregate in the city
during winter is open to dispute, but there's no doubt that they are
perceived as an increasing menace.
In 1999 the Tokyo Metropolitan Government received over five hundred
complaints about the birds' behaviour. Their most common offence is
scavenging among garbage bags and creating an unsightly mess, but they
can also get pretty aggressive, especially during the March-June
breeding season. Ueno Zoo lost fifteen prairie-dog pups last year and
young children have been pecked on the head, but the most famous victim
so far is Tokyo Governor Ishihara Shintaro, who was attacked while out
golfing. He has since waged a campaign against the birds, culminating in
an emergency task force sent into action over the summer of 2000 to tear
down nests and destroy young chicks, with further culls planned.
The real answer, however, is to get rid of the rubbish that attracts the
crows to the city in the first place. Since 1994 the authorities in
Sapporo have been collecting garbage bags before dawn and then
protecting the town's dumps with strong netting. It seems to be working
- a recent study of their droppings suggested that the birds were
returning to a more natural diet of insects, small rodents and fruit. A
number of Tokyo wards have begun to experiment with similar schemes, but
until they introduce a city-wide policy, the crows will just descend in
ever larger numbers wherever they find easy pickings
Forests
Forests of beech, silver fir, broad-leaf evergreens and mangroves once
carpeted Japan. However, the postwar economic boom and in particular the
massive increase in construction led to the decimation of many of these
natural forests. They were replanted with quick-growing Japanese cedar
and cypress, but then, as cheaper timber flooded in from Southeast Asia,
Canada and South America in the 1970s, local demand slumped, leaving a
large proportion of Japan's domestic plantations unused and untended.
While around 67 percent of Japan is still forested, about 40 percent of
this comprises commercial plantations and Japan has come precariously
close to losing some of its most spectacular areas of natural forest.
The "old-growth" beech forests (that is, stands of ancient trees, but
not necessarily untouched virgin forest) of the Shirakami Mountains in
northwest Honshu, for example, came under direct threat in the 1980s
from a government proposal to build a logging road right through them.
Citizens' groups, together with the Nature Conservation Society of Japan
(NCSJ), mounted a huge campaign to demonstrate the forest's immeasurable
ecological and national value. As a result, the government reconsidered
the plan and the forest is now designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The activities of Japanese paper and timber companies in the old-growth
and primary forests (those subjected to only minimal human disturbance)
of neighbouring countries is a huge concern for environmentalists
worldwide. In Australia, for example, one such company operates a wood-chipping
mill that is fed by old-growth eucalyptus trees at a rate of several
football fields a day under a twenty-year licence granted by the
Australian government. The wood is sold for twenty cents a tonne to make
tissues, fax paper and newspapers for the Japanese market. Various
Australian environmental groups - Chipstop, Friends of the Earth and The
Wilderness Society - have joined forces with the Japan Tropical Forest
Action Network (JATAN) among others to petition the Australian
government and the Japanese paper industry to use wood chips from
sustainable sources instead
Conservation efforts
The explosion of recreational activities such as mountaineering in the
early twentieth century provided the spur to the creation of Japan's
first national parks in 1931 . Indeed, the Physical Fitness Bureau
controlled the twelve newly established national parks until the
military started using them for manoeuvres in the war years. The
Environment Agency , formed in 1971 and upgraded to a ministry in
January 2001, is officially responsible for the national parks and
protection of the country's flora and fauna in general, though its scope
and successes have been limited.
Endangered species , of which there are 206, are listed in the Red Data
Book of Japan , which was compiled in 1991 due to direct threats to
population numbers from hunting, habitat degradation and environmental
pollution. The list includes the Iriomote wild cat ( Felis iriomotensis
), endemic to Okinawa's Iriomote-jima , of which only an estimated one
hundred remain, the short-tailed albatross ( Diomedea albatrus ) and the
Japanese otter ( Lupus lupus ) of Shikoku, both of which were once
thought to be extinct. Recently, an animal very similar to a Japanese
wolf, thought to have been extinct in 1905, was photographed in central
Kyushu.
Conservation efforts come in the form of breeding and feeding
programmes, habitat improvement and research projects. In an example of
Russo-Japanese co-operation, researchers from both countries attached
transmitters to fourteen sea eagles and tracked them by satellite to
discover their migratory routes and feeding grounds. Unfortunately,
however, many such conservation programmes fall far short of their goals
largely due to an ineffective government system. According to the
Mammalogical Society of Japan, over half of the endangered mammals on
the list are close to extinction.
At a grass roots level, volunteer groups and Non-Governmental
Organizations (NGOs) play a key role both in campaigning and in carrying
out government projects, one arena in Japan where women are extremely
active. These programmes have brought some success. The Japanese crane (
Grus japonensis ), a magnificent tall-standing bird highly celebrated in
Japan for its grace and beauty and as a symbol of longevity, has
benefited from volunteer-based feeding programmes in the Shiretoko
region of Hokkaido. As a result, the numbers have increased from a mere
33 birds in the 1950s to a stable population of around six hundred
today. Ironically, the Japanese crane is one of the birds most commonly
seen in Japan - on the back of the thousand yen note.
Environmental concerns
With very few natural resources of its own, Japan imports vast
quantities of coal, tropical timber, plutonium, oil and natural gas; its
per capita resource consumption ranks as one of the highest in the
world. While the government, financial institutions and industries push
for further economic growth, environmentalists are increasingly asking
at what price this is to be achieved. They cite examples of uranium
mining on indigenous people's sacred lands to feed Japanese nuclear
reactors, the decimation of Australia's and Southeast Asia's old-growth
forests to feed Japanese pulp mills and dangerously high dioxin and
carbon dioxide levels.
One major by-product of any such heavily industrialized consumer society
is waste , of which the country produces a staggering 440 million tons a
year. Waste disposal costs the tax-payer a small fortune. Burning it
releases poisonous dioxins and working out where to dump it is a
logistical nightmare in such a densely populated country.
A common "solution" is to use garbage for land reclamation and landfill,
often with disastrous results. One such project, completed in 1997,
destroyed part of Japan's largest wetland area in Isahaya, Nagasaki
Prefecture. Fortunately, the protests surrounding Isahaya saved Japan's
second-largest and most important wetland area at Fujimae near Nagoya.
Despite the city authorities stating that there would be "no impact"
should the area be used for garbage disposal, this time the Environment
Agency stepped in with a landmark move to disapprove of the plan, which
was promptly cancelled.
Japan is a technologically advanced and therefore energy-efficient
country. Take, for example, production by Toyota and Honda of the
"hybrid" cars which run off a more efficient, less polluting combination
of electric and internal combustion motors. Furthermore, government tax
incentives and subsidies supporting the use of solar power have led
directly to a forty-percent growth within the industry. Nevertheless,
Japan consumes an estimated 5.6 percent of the world's total energy , of
which over half comes from coal, a by-product of which is carbon
dioxide. Under the Kyoto protocol agreed at the 1997 meeting on climate
change (COP3), Japan is required to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions
by six percent by the year 2010.
Hope for the future
While environmental awareness is slowly growing among the general public
in Japan, it is still painfully limited. Anyone will tell you their
concerns about global warming or dioxin levels, but when it comes down
to making certain changes in lifestyle, habits die hard. Recycling rates
are high, but then so is demand for packaged goods and plastic-bottled
drinks. It will be a long time before the message really sinks in,
partially due to a lack of real direction from the government, torn
between encouraging consumption to boost the economy and discouraging
consumption to reduce pollution and environmental degradation.
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