"Institutionalized Participation" in River Policy and its Problem

Abstract

Amendment of the River Law in 1997 attracts attention because of the public participation procedure in the establishment process of river infrastructure development projects. However, the lack of participation process in earlier stage, when fundamental river management policies are established, is criticized. In this article, I examine this criticism on the class A river. Then I can find out the following three points. (1) 77.4% of the established river infrastructure development projects are made before the establishment of fundamental river management policies. (2)98.6% of these projects are related to the designated sections managed by prefectures. (3) In the designated section, the lack of the coordination with direct control section causes the insufficient public participation.