The Economics of Waste and Pollution Management in Japan

On the threshold of the twenty-first century, the ordinary Japanese citizen has become acutely aware that various environmental hazards pose a serious threat to daily life; such hazards include the problems of waste disposal, dioxin and other substances that disturb humans' endocrine balance. Who, a mere decade ago when these problems were first brought to our attention, would have anticipated that these environmental problems would so quickly become so common and so serious? At the same time, environmental problems on a global scale, such as ozone depreciation by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), global warming and climate change, have become topics of everyday conversation. The main objective of this book is to take in these environmental problems, focus ing on the two locally important and interrelated issues of waste and pollution. This will enable us to investigate the whole range of problems, from regionally based pol lution caused by waste disposal and dioxin to the transboundary warming brought about by CO and CFCs. We shall thus be able to analyze comprehensively the whole 2 extent of "waste and pollution" problems, ranging from those caused by real garbage and domestic waste to the many kinds of technologically generated waste that result from the production, circulation, and consumption of industrial goods and services.

This book gives technological and economic analysis of waste and pollution management in Japan It also tries to evaluate various managerial measures in view of political economy, and scrutinizes the relationship between technology and environment

Klappentext

The main objective of this volume is to clarify problems associated with waste and pollution by investigating a wide spectrum of issues, from global warming to regionally based pollution caused by waste disposal. Included are aspects ranging from domestic waste production to technologically generated waste resulting from the production, circulation, and consumption of industrial goods and services. A secondary objective is to use the methodology of political economy to suggest technical solutions to waste and pollution problems while evaluating the social reforms that may be required. This methodology also uses historical analysis to put current problems into a broader perspective that may offer clues to their solution. In addition, experience with similar problems in Europe and the United States is examined and its relevance to Asia is discussed. Eight related chapters deal with waste and pollution issues affecting the global community in general and Japan in particular.

Inhalt
Introduction: What Is Waste?.- 1 Environmental Cleanup and Cost Bearing: The Methodological Problems.- 2 Environment Politics in Japan.- 3 Economic Analysis of Waste Management in Japan.- 4 High-Tech PollutionA Historical Survey of Problems Generated by the High-Tech Industries.- 5 The Current State of High-Tech Pollution.- 6 Geo-Pollution and a Cleanup System.- 7 Itai-Itai Disease and Countermeasures Against Cadmium Pollution by the Kamioka Mine.- 8 Accumulated Pollution and the PPPMainly Heavy Metal Pollution.