Japan had gained an international notoriety in global environmental issues due to its terrible reluctance to participate in global environmental institutions and to comply with environmental norms.
However, in correspondence with the end of cold war, suddenly Japan began to show a significant leadership.
At the Arch Summit in 1989 and at UNCED in 1992 the government pledged to provide environmental ODA as much as 300 billion yens and 1000 billion yens respectively.
It also began to implement an environmental assessment of ODA projects as recommended by OECD.
Moreover, it hosted CITES COP8 (Kyoto) in 1992, Ramsar Convention COP5 (Kushiro) in 1993, and UNFCCC COP3 (Kyoto) in 1997.
In 1992 it also hosted UNEP ETIC in Osaka and Kusatsu.
The purpose of this article is to account for factors behind the Japan's sudden leadership-seeking in global environmental issues.
Most of the past researches analyze the new phenomena in terms of middle power diplomacy logic which places international reputation as a major factor behind the Japan's leadership.
On the other hand, they assess the role played by NGOs in Japan as very low, stating that besides their local orientation they are too tiny in both financial and membership scales to provoke the government to take leadership internationally.
They also proclaim that lacking in domestic forces it tends to end in symbolic and superficial behaviors which would not accompany persistent efforts to improve its real performance in related environmental policies.
Though this article acknowledges aspects of middle power diplomacy in the Japan's leadership, it argues that contrary to the dominant understanding in most cases except for the climate issue - greening ODA, hosting CITES COP8 and Ramsar COP5 - Japanese NGOs played an indispensable role.
Networking with foreign NGOs, they mobilized international pressures effectively and downgraded reputation of Japan intentionally.
Responding to them, Japan began to participate in them or to comply with international norms, and later tried to improve its damaged reputation internationally by initiating a diplomatic leadership.
It also shows that in the case of Ramsar COP5 and UENP IETC local governments—Kushiro and Shiga respectively—which experienced an active local environmental movement also promoted the idea to host them.
The role played by local governments is not recognized in the above-mentioned past researches.
Moreover in such cases that local NGOs and governments provoked the Japan's environmental diplomacy, it has gradually improved its performance beyond superficial and symbolic behaviors, and nowadays in many cases positively participates in them to accomplish the long-term institutional purposes or attempts to comply with the norms more strictly.

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