This paper reviews “Evidence Based Policy Making”, its philosophy, methods, and application in relation to policy decision making frameworks. The purpose of this paper is to reconstruct a framework for intervention decision making common to EBM and EBPM. We distinguish three stages of decision making: (A) the planning stage, (B) the implementation management stage, and (C) the evaluation and multidimensional feedback stage. Within these stages, different policy decisions are discussed. EBPM does not pay much attention to the construction of dialogue spaces as public spheres. The construction of a public sphere for policy making requires the construction of a variety of registers as social infrastructure by industry, government, and academia, which contain facts in the discourse, states and its changes on the target system, macro-statistics, financial and non-financial information of enterprises, micro-mechanism models of policy scenarios, and so on. It is also necessary to build a register-based public sphere that can use these registers comprehensively.

This paper reviews the definition of evidence-based policy making (EBPM) and the state of debate to ascertain what EBPM aims to achieve. What level of policy it should be applied to and whether it is being applied are then discussed based on specific examples. Current issues of EBPM in Japan are considered from the standpoint of a policymaker who engages with EBPM as a person in charge. The discussion reveals that an effective combination of internal and external rules of thumb and a certain degree of liquidity in the budget may be used to promote EBPM effectively.

This paper aims to clarify the issues and directions in which to improve the current EBPM (evidence-based policy making) in Japan from the scientific and democratic perspectives by identifying the differences between an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and EBPM. It points out that in the evaluation stage, impact assessment should be applied both ex-ante and ex-post, and that adaptive management based on ex-post evaluation is crucial to address uncertainty. The paper also states that evaluation should be conducted comprehensively, considering positive and negative impacts and environmental, economic, and social aspects, and that wise decision-making can be supported by alternative considerations based on that evaluation. Both EBPM and EIA emphasize quantitative evaluation; however, it is necessary to incorporate qualitative evaluation appropriately. Stakeholder engagement in EBPM is an issue that needs to be considered, as both practice and discussion are inadequate. In the future, it is hoped that measures will be found in EBPM to deal with “trans-science issues” by referring to the practical knowledge of EIA.

This paper examines how the Cabinet Office in Japan has understood evidence-based policy making (EBPM) over time. It explores the initial focus on statistical reform as a starting point for EBPM, followed by an analysis of the Cabinet Office’s own internal documents outlining its EBPM initiatives. Finally, these initiatives are compared with the government-wide EBPM guidelines to identify how the Cabinet Office’s understanding of EBPM aligns with or diverges from the broader government approach.

This paper discusses the necessity of mechanistic evidence in the context of evidence-based policy making plus (EBPM+), particularly for addressing complex social issues. Traditional EBPM relies heavily on randomized controlled trials to establish statistical causal relationships; this method faces limitations in non-laboratory settings like public health. To overcome these limitations, EBPM+ incorporates mechanistic evidence, which provides a deeper understanding of the interactions and factors influencing a phenomenon. This approach is crucial for handling multiple dynamic variables and uncertain situations, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The requirements for adequate mechanistic evidence in EBPM+ are outlined with an emphasis on the need for state spaces that describe boundary conditions of interactions, clear distinctions between empirical and actual realities, and consideration of the time constants for changes in structures and elements. The importance of adapting data environments is also highlighted, particularly regarding the granularity and timeliness of public statistics, to support the application of mechanistic evidence. The discussion includes the challenges and solutions for integrating real-time data into policy making models, while underscoring the potential of agent-based models for scenario simulation in the EBPM+ framework.

Since the enforcement of the Paris Agreement, many countries have been grappling with greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction. In Japan, various intensive and challenging projects have been carried out under the Act on Promotion of Global Warming Countermeasures. These projects have aimed to achieve the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) goal of 46% GHG reduction in 2030 as compared with 2013 emission levels. The Action Plans of Local Government (APLG), which include two types of plans, one for the local government’s organizational action and the other for their areal implementation action, play a key role in attaining the NDC goal. The central government provides comprehensive support to municipalities for developing their APLG, yet the rate of APLG adoption remains low so far. This paper, therefore, focuses on the determinants of setting the APLG. Through a linear probability model analysis of municipal level micro data, this paper reveals that the locality’s organizational capacity (population, level of local policy knowledge and fiscal conditions) and the public disclosure of GHG emission are the determinants of its APLG. The statistical evidence implies that greater support should be considered to enhance APLGs.

When considering the appropriate location of schools, it is necessary to consider commuting distance and transportation options, but the actual nationwide situation of school commuting is not clear. Therefore, this study aims to clarify the characteristics and trends in school commuting among students in Japan according to city type by analyzing the Nationwide Person Trip Survey. The characteristics of commuting to school differ by city type; compared to metropolitan areas, rural areas have more students who commute for longer distances and more likely to use bicycles or be transported by car. However, it has become clear that even within each region, for example, commuting distances and means of transportation differ between the central cities and surrounding cities or towns. Regarding trends in commuting to school, the proportion of walking has decreased, the proportion of traveling by train or car has increased, and the average commute distance has increased. It is therefore necessary to take measures that are tailored to local circumstances.