Ewolucja polityki środowiskowej w XX i XXI-wiecznej Japonii

Abstract

The main purpose of this paper is to analyze the perception of contemporary environmental policy in Japan. It was necessary to indicate the factors which make it possible to determine to what extent the change that took place in the 1990s resulted from the concern for the environment itself, and to what extent it was an element of a game, the goal of which was to gain a proper position and influence among other countries. This is interesting because the latter motivation for action would contradict the stereotypical image of the Japanese as people living in harmony with the natural world. For this reason, it was necessary to analyze the historical events that led to profound social changes in Japan at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. At that time, Japan opened itself to the outside world, which resulted in changes in the perception of nature, while still preserving certain elements of the old tradition (which underlies the emergence of unique trends in the field of environmental research).