Abstract
Behavioral studies on environmental perception have been conducted by Japanese geographers since the 1970s, being stimulated by the studies in Anglophone countries. But most of the foreign geographers appear to know little about the development of Japanese research in this field. The aim of this paper is to introduce the behavioral studies on environmental perception in Japan to add their findings to the international inventory of behavioral geography. After briefly outlining the process of the development of behavioral geography in Japan, the empirical studies on environmental perception are reviewed dividing the subject into three aspects: designative aspects (e. g., information field, cognitive maps), appraisive aspects (e. g., evaluation of the environment, spatial preference), and developmental aspects (e. g., children's perception of the environment). It is shown that the major topics of this subject in Anglophone countries have also been discussed by Japanese geographers. Recently, however, non-behavioral approaches to environmental perception, such as humanistic or socio-cultural, have been increasing.
