1 a Historical Constructivist Perspective of Japan's
A Historical Constructivist Perspective of Japan’s Environmental Diplomacy Katsuhiko Mori International Christian University Abstract: Why did Japan attempt to take a leadership role on some occasions, while it became a bystander or even a dragger on other occasions? By examining three cases of environmental diplomacy, i.e., hosting the Kyoto conference on climate change, the Nagoya conference on biodiversity, and the diplomatic conference for the Minamata Convention, this paper will identify the key drivers of effectiveness in Japan’s environmental diplomacy from the perspective of historical constructivism. The study accounts for the historical trajectory and conjunctures of Japan’s environmental diplomacy in the changing global environmental governance with a combination of power, interests, and ideas across time and areas of concern at both international and domestic levels. Introduction Why did Japan attempt to take a leadership role on some occasions, while it became a bystander or even a dragger on other occasions? In the 1980s, Japan was accused of being one of the world’s “eco-outlaws,” especially regarding the tropical timber, whaling, and ivory trades.1 Since the 1990s, Japan has become more active in hosting multilateral environmental conferences, such as the 1997 Third Session of the Conference of Parties (COP-3) of the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the 2010 COP-10, the fifth Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (MOP-5) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the 2013 Diplomatic Conference for the Minamata Convention on Mercury. These conferences were concerned with the atmosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere, which were on the diplomatic agenda in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s, respectively.
[Show full text]