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Briefing Report

Japan’s Environment Policy

Minister of the Environment
Ms. Yuriko Koike

[General] May 17 , 2006

It has been two years and eight months since I became environment minister, so I am now the longest-serving minister of the environment ever in Japan. Today there are both journalists and ambassadors in the audience. As the chief of Japan’s environment policy, I would like to give you a few hints about the environment to take home with you.

At present there are two main pillars in Japan’s environmental administration. One is building a low-carbon [global warming–free] society. The other is building a sound material-cycle society. In Japanese, both of these two pillars consist of quite a few kanji strung together. In order to achieve success in environmental policy, the participation of each individual citizen is essential. For this reason, I have been looking for ways of appealing to the public in an easy-to-understand manner using hiragana rather than kanji as much as possible.

When you want something to catch on in Japan, it is important to reduce its name to four syllables, like rajikase [radio-cassette recorder] and karaoke. These are four-character words in Japanese. This is quite different from the four-letter word in English!

First of all, regarding global warming countermeasures, or the building of a low-carbon society, this concept also contains a lot of kanji and is difficult to understand. Since Japan has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, I hope that the public well understands the need to observe our promises in the Kyoto Protocol. However, as the Kyoto Protocol consists of five kanji, it is probably rather difficult getting people to understand the content of the document. Taking 1990 as the base year, the Kyoto Protocol states that in what is called the first commitment phase, from 2008 to 2012, Japan must reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases by six percent compared with 1990. The reality, however, is that, because the economy is going through a recovery, the statistics for fiscal 2004, which are the most recent, show an increase of 7.4 percent. Considering this gap, therefore, it works out that we must actually reduce emissions by more than 13 percent.

In order to achieve this high goal of 13 percent reductions, I realized that, more than anything else, a change in people’s consciousness is necessary. On June 1, 2005, therefore, I started the “Cool Biz” campaign by which men are encouraged to take off their ties and jackets in the summer. In Japanese, “Cool Biz” consists of four syllables. For Japanese businessmen, taking off their neckties was a great shock, and I am sure it needed a lot of courage.

However, I was not proposing a new fashion but appealing to the public to participate in tackling global warming. In this sense, I think that I got the message across extremely well. Thanks to the implementation of the “Cool Biz” campaign from June 1 to September 30 last year, and thus the setting of air-conditioning thermostats at 28 degrees Celsius, energy consumption was reduced by that amount. It is estimated that as a result of the “Cool Biz” campaign, emissions of carbon dioxide were reduced by 460,000 tons. That is the same as reducing the emissions of about one million households over one month. One million households means a city the size of Osaka or Nagoya.

“Cool Biz” won the award for last year’s most popular new term. As a result of the “Cool Biz” campaign, the men’s clothing business, which had been in the doldrums, picked up, personal consumption was ignited, and the sales of department stores increased over the previous year for the first time in nine years. When I started the “Cool Biz” campaign, I promised to make “the planet and Japanese men cooler and the economy hotter,” and I was able to achieve that promise. In the world of politics it is rather difficult to keep a promise, but I think that I succeeded. The paradigm of the twentieth century was that the more the economy expanded, the more energy was used. The paradigm of the twenty-first century is to enliven the economy but keep a check on energy consumption. For this purpose, I believe that both technological power and a change in people’s consciousness are necessary.

Today, what I would like to say especially to people from Asia is that this year the “Cool Biz” campaign will be entering its second year from June 1, and this second year will be very important for consolidating the “Cool Biz” look. Also, I would like to spread this concept in other Asian countries that, like Japan, have a hot and humid climate. The campaign will start on June 1, and on the day before, May 31, we are planning to hold a “Cool Biz” fashion show at Omotesando Hills. This will be the third fashion show sponsored by the Ministry of the Environment. In June of last year we held a fashion show at the Aichi Expo, at which people from the business world, such as Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Hiroshi Okuda, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Chairman Yoichi Morishita, and Orix Corp. Chairman Yoshihiko Miyauchi, served as models. As a result of that event, the campaign spread very much in business circles. At the fashion show on May 31 this year, I am asking my fellow government ministers to come along if they can make it and serve as models. And at the same time, I am calling on ambassadors of Asian countries in Tokyo and hope that a few of them will be models as well. I am also thinking of inviting several Asian guests. I ask you, therefore, to cover our fashion show on the evening of May 31, featuring ministers and ambassadors, and to help spread the campaign in other countries.

Japan is the only Asia country with the obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. However, I believe that it will exert a major impact on the region and on the Earth as a whole if countries in the Asia region, which is expected to achieve great economic development from now on, tackle the problem of global warming. For this reason, at the same time as fulfilling our own obligations, we must also call on other Asian countries to adopt such global-warming countermeasures.

At the start of my speech, I said that there are two pillars in environmental administration. One is global-warming countermeasures. The other is the building of a sound material-cycle society. When the economy expands, it produces various kinds of waste. I believe that we must check the discharge of this waste as much as possible and build a sound material-cycle society so that resources are used effectively and recycling is promoted. Regarding the building of a sound material-cycle society, as an initiative of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Japan proposed the 3R Initiative at the G-8 summit. The 3Rs are reduce, reuse, and recycle, which all begin with the letter “r.” The Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Maathai, who received the Nobel Peace Prize, has suggested that “refuse” should be added as another “r,” and it has been suggested that “remodeling” might be added as well. But Japan’s message to the world refers to these basic three Rs.

Domestically there are mainly five recycling laws that support this 3R concept, including the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law and the Home Appliance Recycling Law. The Containers and Packaging Recycling Law has been in force for 10 years, and a review is now being deliberated in the current session of the Diet. In order for this Containers and Packaging Recycling Law to be implemented even more thoroughly, we are appealing to the public, stressing that the cooperation of every individual is necessary.

Similar to the “Cool Biz” campaign that I just spoke about, since the participation of as many people as possible is required, I am introducing this furoshiki [square cloth used for wrapping objects] that I designed and produced myself. The picture is a bird-and-flower painting by Ito Jakuchu [1716–1800], a Japanese painter who lived in the middle of the Edo period [1603–1868]. At first sight it might look like a scarf, but I made it as a furoshiki. I called it the “Mottainai Furoshiki.” Mottainai [waste not, want not] is a Japanese word that is extremely difficult to translate. This furoshiki can be used as a scarf, but I also suggest that you take it with you to the convenience store or other shop and use it instead of a plastic shopping bag to carry home your shopping. The furoshiki is very familiar to the Japanese, but it is not used very much these days. So I am now involved in a campaign to revive this piece of Japanese wisdom about the environment. I have tied the two corners of this cloth. If you tie the four corners, you can used it to wrap up this globe. (I am the environment minister, so I brought along a globe!) You can also use it to carry two bottles of wine, which I’m sure you all like very much. You can wrap the two bottles like this and then take them to your friend’s house. The good thing about the furoshiki is that it can be used to wrap both round things and square things. And this furoshiki is made in my constituency of Toshima Ward. It is called the “Red Furoshiki of Happiness.” The design shows how you can use it to wrap things. Both of these furoshiki use fiber recycled from PET bottles.

I said just now that you can use the furoshiki instead of a plastic shopping bag. In Japan, 30 billion plastic shopping bags are used every year. We are carrying out a campaign so that the use of the furoshiki, eco-bags, and personal shopping bags becomes something quite natural. This was the case 20 or 30 years ago, but then people succumbed to convenience. Our campaign is a kind of admonition of this trend. By making such easy-to-understand, enjoyable, and rather fashionable presentations, we hope to enhance the consciousness of the people. Regarding the two pillars of environmental administration, we hope to share easy-to-understand contact points with the public and proceed smoothly toward the two goals of building a low-carbon society and a sound material-cycle society.

In addition, we want to share Japan’s experiments with other Asian countries. Almost every year since 1991 an informal meeting of environment ministers, called Eco Asia, has been held in Japan. Through these meetings, we hope to further promote environmental cooperation in Asia. This year also, the Eco Asia meeting will be held in the city of Saitama on June 24 and 25. The meeting will have the ambitious theme of “Towards a Sustainable Society.” The participants are scheduled to discuss how to promote activities on the individual, community, and Asia-Pacific regional levels. Also, prior to Eco Asia, we have already called on international students to participate in an essay contest. Winners will be invited to the Eco Asia meeting. So we urge Asian students who are studying in Japan to give us their ideas about the sustainable society. The Japanese government will recognize outstanding essays.

The twenty-first century is being called the century of the environment. It is also being called the century of Asia. If that is so, then Asian countries must share objectives and know-how and achieve targets for the large themes of both Asia and the environment. And I believe that Japan has a very important role to play in this respect. The “Cool Biz” campaign will start on June 1, and June is also environment month in Japan. Various environmental events will be held around the country, and I would like you to know about them. I hope that the efforts to build a sustainable society in Japan and the various presentations from the Environment Ministry will provide you with useful hints for your work. Thank you very much.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q: The “Cool Biz” campaign is targeting men and not women again this year. Do you have any plans to target women from now on?
A: Women are also targets in both the “Cool Biz” and the “Warm Biz” campaigns. However, while women have an extremely high level of interest in the environment, the level of interest among men is generally low. So we targeted the “Cool Biz” campaign especially at men in order to give them a shock. Furthermore, while women already wear clothing that suits the weather, men seemed to be bound by a spell that they must wear ties and jackets whatever the weather. But I think that we freed them from that spell.

Q: As you mentioned, Japan is already 13 percent behind the target it needs to reach. The furoshiki is a good idea, but that is not going to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 13 percent. How is Japan possibly going to manage this? And do you have any estimates about what this might cost in terms of raised taxes or lost production? Is there any number that you can attach to achieving those targets?
A: The Japanese government now gives figures for carbon dioxide emissions by sector. In the industrial sector, the figure is just about level. However, although it is level, the volume is the largest. The transportation sector, including traffic, has seen an increase of about 20 percent compared with 1990. In other sectors, including air conditioning in offices, hospitals, city halls, and other buildings, the figure has gone up about 30 percent. And in ordinary households, it has risen by nearly 30 percent. In industrial circles, as the price of crude oil reaches $75 per barrel, companies now have an incentive to lower costs as much as possible. The government is thinking of supporting efforts by companies to switch as much as possible to natural gas and shift to energy with less carbon dioxide emission. Where individuals and offices are concerned, however, government regulations are rather difficult here. Therefore, we wanted to change people’s mindset, because “Cool Biz” is related to office air conditioning. And I think that we have exerted a good influence on attitudes through the “Cool Biz” campaign. The government as a whole sets targets for each sector, and it formulates target achievement plans and checks the degree of achievement each year.
In addition, in order to achieve the targets, I think it is important for the government to take the lead. When the Koizumi cabinet was first launched, it promised to introduce low-pollution vehicles and fuel-efficient vehicles, and it achieved its target in four years rather than the five years it had set. I think the number was four thousand and several hundred vehicles, but anyway it switched all of the government’s official cars to low-pollution vehicles and fuel-efficient vehicles. Incidentally, I am using an Estima Hybrid as my minister’s car. The Environment Ministry is using two fuel-cell cars. This is perhaps the most expensive car in the world. Its use by the Environment Ministry has a demonstrative effect, and the ministry is offering support to local governments that want to purchase a fuel-cell car for demonstration purposes.
Furthermore, when concluding contracts with electric power companies, although companies that generate electricity using coal are cheaper, the policy of the Environment Ministry is to purchase from companies that use energy sources with less carbon dioxide emission. In reality the 13 percent gap is a high hurdle, but we want to achieve this big target as we change the mindset of individuals and at the same time check the progress of achievement in each sector in this way and keep an eye on details.

Q: Living in Japan, I frequently use public libraries and other such facilities, and probably because the date for turning on the air conditioning is fixed, I often notice that the air conditioning is on even though it is not that hot at all. Trains and department stores are the same. I understanding that you have various ideas like “Cool Biz,” but I was wondering whether, as a minister, you were contemplating any specific regulations or measures toward such attitudes and ways of thinking in public facilities? Also, can you tell us where we can buy the “Mottainai Furoshiki”? And finally, “Cool Biz” and the “Mottainai Furoshiki” are measures designed to conserve energy by returning to the origins, but what measures is the Japanese government thinking of in terms of natural energy, wind power, and solar energy?
A: Regarding your first question about “Cool Biz,” places that are engaged in the service industry in particular, such as department stores and hotels, still seem to think that keeping the temperature down is a service, but I believe that is a gross misunderstanding. As the number of “Cool Biz” men increases, they will come to notice this. For example, railway companies are beginning to review the situation since it was pointed out that air conditioning on trains is too strong. There is no legislation telling them to set the thermostats at a certain temperature, but I think such opinions will further increase as “Cool Biz” advances. When I meet people from department stores, hotels, and railway companies, I also point out this matter to them.
Regarding your second question about furoshiki, department stores like Mitsukoshi have set up furoshiki corners. Previously furoshiki were hidden in a corner of the kimono section, but we have been asking stores to put them right in the center as much as possible. Cheaper ones cost from around \1,000, but there are also furoshiki made of silk, which are more expensive. In a sense, these silk furoshiki also have a cultural value. Also, recently I have been recommending Japanese companies and foreign companies as well to make furoshiki instead of expensive paper bags when they are offering a service. As a result, BP [the former British Petroleum] came out with this furoshiki. Furoshiki are a familiar item for Japanese, but I was delighted that foreign companies have shown a good understanding of the furoshiki idea as well.
In environmental policy, there are often many regulations that say don’t do this and don’t do that. However, while recognizing that regulations are necessary in some cases, I believe that environmental administration goes better if it has the participation and cooperation of the people. So, by presenting “Cool Biz” and furoshiki, we aim to create an environment-oriented state through the efforts of the country as a whole in a manner that is enjoyable and includes a sense of self-fulfillment in protecting the environment.

Q: When it comes to the administration, environmental regulations often consist of “don’t” issues, like “don’t do this.” A similar question was probably asked before, but specifically what authority does the Environment Ministry have? Can you make companies and others take action? Japan has accumulated varied experience relating to pollution and so on, but what authority does your ministry have regarding specific measures, such as planting grass on roofs? Can you make it obligatory for companies to apply certain measures? For example, does your ministry have the authority to say that if companies do not obey something, they will be imprisoned or fined? In the sense of providing solutions, can the Environment Ministry do something on the basis of authority?
A: The two pillars that I talked about today are extremely new themes. I think they have only been introduced since the start of the Environment Ministry. The Environment Agency was upgraded to the Ministry of the Environment in January 2001. The Environment Agency had been established in 1971 against the background of pollution problems, such as water pollution and air pollution. In particular, water and air quality regulations are major regulations of environmental administration dating from the period of the Environment Agency. Since Japan, following its experience of pollution, now has the strictest regulations in the world, I think that enormous improvements have been seen in terms of water quality and air quality in this country. Also, in terms of the policy of building a sound material-cycle society, such activities as illegal dumping are of course liable to punishment. In this way, regulations have come to cover various fields, and we enforce regulations correctly bearing in mind our experience with pollution and other factors. And with regard to companies and individuals that do not obey these regulations, we are taking steps to enforce appropriate penalties.
You also mentioned such moves as the greening of rooftops. The greening of rooftops is now going ahead as a measure against the heat-island phenomenon. I think this word is Japanese-English, and correctly we should say “heat-land.” This is not the domain of the Environment Ministry, but the government as a whole is making efforts to subsidize rooftop greening as a heat-island countermeasure.
The terms “Cool Biz” and “Warm Biz” have become part of the Japanese language, but they are not limited simply to the field of fashion. For example, there could be “Cool Biz” and “Warm Biz” buildings, “Cool Biz” and “Warm Biz” communities, and “Cool Biz” and “Warm Biz” automobiles. The concepts could be applied to all kinds of things. They could be used in relation to lifestyle as well. Therefore, I would like from now on to spread this “Cool Biz” idea into various other fields.

Q: Recently one issue in China has been that country’s ban on the export of timber. According to media reports in Japan, the price of disposable wooden chopsticks is going to increase from now on. It has long been said that Japan’s disposable wooden chopsticks are one reason for the depletion of forests in Southeast Asia and environmental degradation on a global scale. In the private sector, there have been moves recently to encourage people to carry around their own personal chopsticks, but couldn’t the wood used for disposable chopsticks be replaced by other materials? For example, Japan produces a lot of bamboo, so couldn’t the Earth be saved by switching to bamboo? What are the thoughts of the Environment Ministry regarding this problem?
A: The number of disposable wooden chopsticks used in Japan is, I think I’m right in saying, 30 billion. Just now I said that the number of plastic shopping bags is 30 billion as well. Coincidentally, the figures are the same. It’s very shocking. Japanese mountains are running wild because they are not being looked after. It is necessary for us to take better care of them, for example by trimming. I think that for this purpose it would be a good idea to use the so-called NEETs [not in employment, education, or training] and freeters [part-time job hoppers]. And I think that we should also promote personal chopsticks and plastic chopsticks, which restaurants can use repeatedly. The reality is that Japan has been using imported chopsticks from China because they are cheap, but I think the time has come for us to review the situation.

Q: Is Prime Minister Koizumi going to be a model at the fashion show?
A: Prime Minister Koizumi will not be a model at the fashion show on March 31, but other ministers, including those who are said to be “post-Koizumi” candidates, will be models. So Prime Minister Koizumi’s successor might well be decided by the performance that evening. It might be a very important event, so don’t miss it!

* Given on May 17, 2006, at the Foreign Press Center/Japan. This paper is reserved for internal use; any reproduction or quotation is forbidden without prior permission from the FPCJ. 　 ©FPCJ 2006