Ambassador's Address
at the Belgium-Japan Association's Seminar on Environment - Japan and Europe
ING Bank, Brussels
February 11, 2004
Thank you very much, Mr. Thielemans.
Ladies and Gentlemen and Colleagues
I. Introduction
I would like to first express my sincere appreciation for the opportunity to speak to you here today. I want to say that environmental issues are as significantly important in Japan as they are in Europe. I also want to say that the cross-border effects of pollution and waste make environmental preservation by nature an issue of great concern internationally, and that the people in areas such as Japan and EU have opportunities to work very closely together.
Before being appointed to the current position, I was personally involved in various negotiations on environmental issues including the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol. This Protocol is, in fact, a very good example of Japanese/EU cooperation and leadership.
Here in Brussels, the Government of Japan has been contributing to the debate on the environmental policy in Europe, especially concerning the new regulation on chemical products (REACH).
Today, I would like first to briefly introduce and discuss with you Japanese initiatives that address environmental issues and, second, offer some examples of the Japanese perspective on the EU's environmental policy.
II. Our commonality: raising awareness of environmental issues
It is well know that in Japan people historically have tended to cherish our country's natural beauties. Unfortunately, however, high economic growth in Japan has had the adverse effect of polluting our air and water supplies and have even caused serious diseases in some regions. And an additional problem has been Japan's limited space available for waste disposal sites. But these unfortunate experiences and geographical limitations have, however, helped raise awareness of the importance of environmental preservation in Japan.
III. Japan's Efforts on behalf of Environmental Issues
Heightened awareness has prompted our national government, local government and our private sector to implement strict er environmental measures. As a result, clear sky is back above the big cities and fish has returned to the rivers. We can say that Japan has solved much of traditional type of pollution problems. And now it is determined to address new type of issues.
Today, I would like to touch upon two such initiatives, namely recycling and global warming.
Japan is committed to becoming a Recycling society. Becoming a Recycling society involves the 3 R's (Reduce Re-use and Recycle). First, products should be designed with waste-reduction; second, products should be re-used; and third, wastes should be recycled.
To illustrate Japan's commitment to problems, let me cite a few figures: Japan recycles today more than 80% of cans, approximately 60% of paper, 80% of glass bottles, and 45% of plastic bottles. In addition, in 2001 Japan introduced a recycling program for electronic appliances and at the beginning of next year another recycling program for automobiles will be launched.
On the second matter, global warming question, the Japanese Government and private businesses have made enormous efforts to improve energy efficiency for the sake of the environment . It is needless to say that Japanese factories and power plants, for example, have introduced the most advanced energy efficient technologies in the world. In addition, the Japanese Government has set very high level of energy efficiency standards for electronic appliances and automobiles. As a result, Japan's consumer goods have become the most energy-efficient in the world.
Japan has also undertaken robust initiatives for renewable energy as well. For example, installation of solar panel systems in houses has been assisted by the Government since about 10 years ago, so that there are today more than 130,000 installations in households. Today Japanese solar power capability amounts to 50% of the total world's capacity.
From these Japanese experiences, three important observations can be highlighted:
First, heightened consumer awareness of environmental issues has had a strong impact; it is no more evident than in Japan, for example, where 100 thousand hybrid cars have already been sold.
Second, consumer initiatives have influenced industry's decision to implement environmental protection measures as an important management strategy; and
Third, sound government policy is required in order to achieve the optimum output. The first and second points are indispensable in realizing the expected outcome of the policy measures.
IV. Japan's Perceptions of the Current Environmental Restrictions in Europe
If I may now turn to Europe , it goes without saying that Europe is the global leader in the environmental policy. Past international negotiations on various environmental policies have demonstrated that Europe's input has had significant impacts on the rest of the world. I would like to emphasise the following two points:
First, in most cases, policy messages and directions coming from Europe have contained progressive and advanced approaches and concepts.
Second, Europe-wide initiatives cover a huge area, and economic and social entity of approximately 400 million people.
The EU's environmental policy is therefore of utmost interest to the Japanese industry and government. The proposed new Regulation on chemicals, REACH, is one such example of a policy regulation closely monitored by the Japanese industry and government.
If I may I would like to take this opportunity to commend the efforts of the European Commission to increase the transparency of regulatory procedures. In addition to the existing procedures of issuing Communications and White Papers, the Commission has also undertaken Internet consultation prior to the submission of the Commission's draft proposal on REACH. As a result of such a consultation, a wide range of stake holders were able to participate in the policy-making process. I am also confident that the European Commission carefully considered the various comments raised by third countries.
Despite these positive initiatives, however, decision-making in the EU remains complex. Monitoring the problems of the decision-making process is inevitably subject to the effects of discussions between Brussels and Member States as well as the various interested parties with in Member States. This can be a daunting task and a complicated process for foreign governments and industry, which need to follow such a drawn-out process from the initial announcement of the policy concept to the implementation in each Member State as a result of the decision reached in Brussels.
Moreover, as Member States are often required to execute EU legislation, I often hear complaints that legislation is not accurately implemented at the national level. Such inconsistencies can pose problems, especially for third countries such as Japan.
Nevertheless, Japanese government and industry will continue to closely follow the EU's environmental policy. In the meantime, we hope that the European Union well carefully listen to the voices and input from the third countries such as Japan.
In the hope of fostering closer cooperation in the realm of environmental policy with the EU, I would like to mention the following three points:
First, Europe should be aware that the EU's environmental policy has possibility of causing trade frictions or sometimes effects on international investment. To avoid this, I would like to emphasize the importance that all policies be completely introduced in WTO-consistent way.
Secondly, Europe should be aware that Japan's comments are based upon actual experiences. As I mentioned previously, Japan has the experience, knowledge and technology to implement efficient, effective and manage able environmental policies.
Third, at the present moment, environmental policy is often one of the key subjects of multilateral discussions in fora including the OECD or the WTO. I would therefore like to request that the Europe pay careful consideration to multilateral discussions so that the European measures wou ld not contradict to multilateral achievements.
We commend the EU's active initiatives aimed at implementing sound environmental policies. The ecosystem is a treasure to be preserved for the entire human race. Japan is determined to contribute to our common mission proactively and hand-in-hand with the EU. Our strong cooperation, through discussions and exchange of experiences and ideas will certainly make an important contribution to the preservation of the global environment.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Related Information (Japan-EU Relations)The Mission of Japan to the European Union Official Web Site
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