Abstract
The natural environment is a very important issue at present. This paper discusses Japanese views of nature based on pre-test data. The survey was conducted on students from two different faculties at different universities; the Faculty of Humanities at Toyo Riwa Wonco's University and the Faculty of Agriculture at Shinshu University. In comparing the results of the survey, the authors obtained some interesting findings. For example; (1) Four common animals, the bear, monkey. racoon dog and fox were listed by both groups, but the serow was the number one choice by the students of Shinshu University. (2) Many of students of Toyo Eiwa selected animals which have to be protected from extinction based on thcir liking of animals, without considering the ecosystem. This contrasted with Shinshu University where many of the students seem to consider the problem in relation to the ecosystem. Differences between the two groups regarding simple feelings towards nature are small, however there are large differences of opinion how to thik of nature. These results suggest that Japanese people hasically feel the same way about nature but opinions on how to think of nature varies according to one's environment, education or other conditions.
