Hiroya Masuda (Governor, Iwate Prefecture) - November 2000

Hiroya Masuda (Governor, Iwate Prefecture) - November 2000

Around the year 2000, Japan was undergoing a major shift in environmental legislation: in addition to the "Law Concerning Special Measures against Dioxins" in 1999 and the "Basic Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society" in 2000, the "Home Appliance Recycling Law" and "Food Recycling Law" were scheduled to come into effect the following year, pushing waste reduction and resource recycling as a national policy. The following year, the Home Appliance Recycling Law and the Food Recycling Law were scheduled to come into effect. On the ground, however, the shortage of final disposal sites and the problem of illegal dumping were becoming more serious, and the finances and systems of local governments were beginning to show their limits. Against this backdrop, Iwate Governor Hiroya Masuda, in cooperation with Aomori and Akita prefectures, envisioned a "broad-based environmental tax" to tax industrial waste disposal companies. The proposal, which was to be discussed at the
"North Tohoku Environmental Forum" scheduled for November 2000, attracted attention as a local initiative that would complement national policies. This proposal reexamined the division of roles between the national and local governments, and served as a precursor to the development of environmental policies by local communities on their own.