This article examines the coverage and legal characteristics of the 1997 Environmental Impact Assessment Law. Firstly, the law is classified as a project EIA law. Second, I point out that the law does not directly cover implementing and monitoring stage of a project, nor deal with planning stage where who is the proponent of a project is not decided yet. Third, I examine the coverage of project types of the law. Fourth, I consider whether the law is due process regulation or command and control regulation. Fifth, I touch upon the issue of public participation in the EIA process. It is examined why public participation is allowed.

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Local governments have used a system of integrating environmental consideration in implementing new projects which might greatly effect the environment to prevent pollution, to preserve the natural and historical environment, and to sustain scenic beauty based on the local government ordinance. However, the current local government environmental impact assessment system is subject to revision. Two main points are involved. First, I suggest reviewing a project from an environmental viewpoint by throwing information open as early as thrashing out a project draft. Second, I suggest considering complex and cumulative environmental impact a large-target area development project may have in the whole project area. “A New System of Environmental Consideration in Tokyo Metropolitan government” was submitted to the Head of the Environmental Preservation Bureau in 1998, to enrich and develop environmental administration preventive function by institutionalizing complementary procedures with a fresh viewpoint besides the current system of environmental impact assessment. Thus, an effective assessment in which two kinds of procedure are closely connected will be put into operation if the proposed system is realized and applied by ordinance.

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So many environmental impact assessments (EIAs) had been done by proponents and environmental consultants during three decades or more. They are, ordinary, called “Japanese-original EIA.” This expression implies “end-meeting EIA, ” in Japanese, “awase-ment.” New procedures are introduced in the EIA Law. Some of them are documenting-systems of specifications and opening-to-the-public and publichearing systems.
Because of the Japanese conventions on same-basis and memory-oriented entrance examinations and so forth, decisively-answering, closemouthed-uncertainties and detailed-description are needed in EISs. In the sense, for lack of recognition on communication between proponents and residents, limitations of scientific surveys and estimations and, in addition, decision-making tools, precedents will be maintained in the environmental assessment fields.
For coming and prosperous EIA system in Japan, you will make up clear and accurate reporting system, participating system, guarantees on transparency, specifying preconditions of scientific probabilities and limitations and following-up system.

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Sustainable development is the keyword of making and implementing policies, plans or programs. Real estate development should be done under this concept. But the past developments in Japan were not sustainable because of less environmental awareness in land use planning. The excessively high density of Tokyo area is the typical example. Though Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) could mitigate impacts of individual development, it is impossible to check the cumulative impacts of a series of developments done in a certain area. Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) is a promising approach to overcome the shortcomings of EIA. SEA process starts from such earlier stage of policy, plan or program making before the project starts. SEA is emerging in environmentally advanced countries including the US, Canada, Australia and EU countries. The paper discusses what is SEA and reviews briefly the present state of SEA movement in the world and in Japan. It is important to stress that introducing SEA means the enhancement of transparency of decision making process.

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Environmental Impact Assessment has been identified a clear role as an instrument to achieve sustainable development. The tendency to associate sustainability solely with environmental sustainability, and not with poverty and development issues, has to be overcome. One of the solution is to introduce Development Impact Assessment which has been proposed in the USA.

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