Environmental Policy Integration (EPI) refers to the strategy and the process of ensuring that environmental objectives are reflected in all policy areas. In recognizing the importance of the concept with reference to EPI literature, this paper analyzes EPI practices in Japanese climate policy from institutional, political and cognitive perspectives. Key findings are: 1) the concept of EPI can be found in principles, organizational structures, and plans in Japan, and mainstreaming of the climate agenda was occasionally seen; 2) however, implementation of institutional and organizational EPI that can lead to coordination and harmonization between different policy areas and that can ensure the effectiveness of climate policy is limited, with each ministry keeping its policy area independent. As a result, the study found that EPI from political and cognitive perspectives, including political engagement and modification of actor interests, could play an important role in accelerating EPI from an institutional perspective.

In this paper, in order to investigate the impact of information provision on consumer preference for conservation agriculture products, choice experiments were conducted with consumers in Shiga, Kyoto, and Osaka regarding Lake Biwa in Shiga. We analyzed the data obtained, using random parameter logit models in WTP space. The results show that information provision had an effect on consumer preference. However, the effect differed depending on the type of information and the type of consumer. For making the conservation agricultural products more popular, it can be found that the suitable information for each consumers should be provided by clarifying the kind of preferences for which consumers are willing to be influenced.

”Future Design” poses the following question: what types of social systems are necessary if we are to leave future generations sustainable natural environments and sustainable societies. One method for this is to use an “imaginary future generation.” I provide an overview of the theoretical background of this method, the results of relevant laboratory and field experiments, and the nature of relevant practical applications in cooperation with local governments.

Inclusive wealth, a weighted aggregate of produced, human, and natural capital, has been a focus of attention as an indicator of sustainability of social well-being. To date, the main discussion has been theoretical analysis founded on welfare economic theory and empirical analysis on a national level. There are also expectations for the application of the indicator to policy determination processes for national and local sustainable development. In this paper, we briefly review recent developments on theory and measurement, and then introduce some attempts to apply inclusive wealth to such processes in Japan. In particular, we discuss evaluation of disaster reconstruction, policy making of local governments, and cost benefit analysis and policy evaluation of infrastructure management. For future research, it is also expected to shed light on channels from local social capital to social well-being, as well as to increase application of ex-ante policy evaluation using an inclusive wealth framework.