YEARS after other industrial countries, Japan is finally demanding public
environmental impact assessments before major public works projects can be
started.
Until now, Japan鈥檚 Cabinet Office has been responsible鈥攐ften in
secret鈥攆or assessing the environmental impact of a limited range of public
projects. The new law passes this responsibility to the country鈥檚 Environment
Agency.
It also extends the range of projects that require an impact assessment. For
example, new railways required an assessment only if they involved the
shinkansen bullet train. In future, all new railways will require an impact
assessment.
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The new arrangements will not come into effect for another two years.
