2018 Volume 2017 Issue 2 Pages 37-48
During the mid-1950s and the 1970s, Japanese society undermined serious pollution issues. Nowadays, similar destruction is evident in developing countries. This study aims to address the transformation of Japanese society to overcome pollution issues to make recommendations to countries facing environmental degradation. The method applied integrates the multi-level perspective, multi-phase transition, and multi-level governance. This study identified three social innovations: the anti-pollution movement in Mishima, Numazu, and Shimizu; development of the epidemiological causal relationship strategy; and implementation of Pollution Control Agreement. These triggered the transformation of local autonomy, industry ethics, mutual interaction between multi-stakeholders, institutional changes, and environmental policy and governance. To overcome the side effects of industrialization and advance to the next stage of modernization, a healthy democratic system and cooperative policymaking are necessities for the environmental governance.
