Heavily polluted areas are designated by the prime minister, based on Article 17 of the Basic Environment Law in Japan. Pollution Abatement Programs are created by governors of the prefectures in which the designated areas are located and then approved by the prime minister. According to these programs, businesses and local public entities are responsible for implementing pollution abatement projects. As the designated areas include all large cities and major industrial cities in Japan, it is said that activities performed in these areas strongly affect the global environment. From the viewpoint of conservation of the global environment, the pollution abatement projects provided in the Pollution Abatement Programs should include the appropriate actions against acid rain, global warming, etc.
