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Title ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN JAPAN: THE CASE OF TOKYO

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Author Homma, Yasuhei.

Publication Date 1972-08-01

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.. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN JAPAN: THE CASE OF TOKYO

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Yasuhei Homma

August 1972

AEC Contract No. W -7405-eng -48

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This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. While this document is believed to contain correct information, neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor the Regents of the University of California, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by its trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof, or the Regents of the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof or the Regents of the University of California. -1- ...... -, ~ ....

ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN JAPAN: THE CASE OF TOKYO

Yasuhei Homma '-· St. Paul University Tokyo, Japan and Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory University of California Berkeley, California 9.4720

August 1972

The dramatic appearance in Japan of diseases caused by environ- mental pollution has called attention to the extent of pollution there, especially in Tokyo and its environs.

Diseases Caused by Pollution

The now-famous Minimata disease was found to be caused by mercury discharged into Minamata Bay in Kumqmoto Prefecture in western Japan, as waste from a factory of the Mihon Chis so Co. As of December 1971 the number of recognized victims of this disease reached 181, of whom 50 had already died. A suit to collect damages for injuries resulting from this disease is still pending in court.

There have been three other major cases involving diseases caused by pollution: the ltai-itai disease case', the Niigata-Minamata disease case, and the Yokkaichi asthma case. In 1971, court decisions were rendered in two of these cases -the ltai-itai disease case and the

Niigata:-Manamata disease case.

According to The Japan Times (one of the most influential

English-language newspapers in Japan) of July 1, 1971, the Toyama

Distric,t Court handed down a historic ruling stating that the so-called ' Itai-itai Disease was caused by cadmium and other heavy metals -2-

.. ' ·ca-relessly discharged by the Kamioka plant of the Mitsui Mining and

Smelting Company of Tokyo. The paper reported as follows:

11 The district court ruled Wednesday that the Itai-itai (ouch-ouch)

Disease that killed and disabled dozens of residents along the Jinzu

River (Toyama Prefecture) here was traceable to the cadmium dis-

charge of a smelting plant. The court ordered Mitsui Mining and

Smelting Co., owner of the plant, to pay 57 million yen in damage's to

31 victims and families of those who have already died of the disease.

The ruling, the first to attribute any environmental hazards to industry,

is expected to have a far-reaching effect on environmental pollution

problems and particularly the public movement against them. 11

Itai-itai disease had been considered a strange disease for a long

time, but only after World War II was the cause of the disease .dis-

covered through the efforts of a local doctor and others. They dis-

closed that the disease was caused by cadmium waste from the Kamioka

plant, which contaminated the Jinzu River. and nearby fields. The dis-

charged cadmium entered the bodies of the victims through farm products, water, and fish, and formed deposits in the bones. The

symptoms of the ailment are piercing pains in the joints as the bone tis sues grad-ually turn brittle. Victims, many of whom died, supposedly number more than five hundred.

Next, according to The Japan Times of September 30, 1971, t~e

Niigata District Court handed down an important verdict on an environ- mental pollution case which gave notice to all enterprises that they must handle the disposal of their industrial waste with utmost care. The paper -3-

reported as follows:

'~ The Niigata District Court Wednesday morning ordered Showa

Denko Company to pay 270,249, 800 yen in damages to 77 victims and

the bereaved families in a precedent-setting decision in the Niigata­

Minamata Disease case.

The gist of the ruling is as follows: The victims of the mercury poisoning case contracted the organic mercury poisoning when they in­

gested a large amount of fish taken from the Agana River. Methyl

mercury compounds which had been ingested by fish accumulated in the

bodies of victims. Contamination of fish with organic mercury was due to the Kase plant of the chemical company discharging waste containing

.methyl mercury compounds."

The Niigata-Minamata disease was methyl mercury poisoning which broke out among several residents in the areas of the lower reaches of the Agana River (Niigata Prefecture) during the year from August

1964 to July 1965. In January 1965 the first patient was discovered in the hospital attached to the University of Niigata. As of the day the decision iri court was handed down, the recognized patients totaled 54, among whom seven ultimately died.

As we have seen, both decisions completely confirmed the com­ plaints ofthe plaintiffs. It was legal affirmation that lives were lost by cadmium and methyLmercury poisoning, discharged as waste products of the plants in question.

With these decisions, drastic changes in attitude occurred in the legislature and the administration toward environmental pollution prob­ lems as weli as toward industrial organizations and businesses. ... -4-

Both Itai-itai disease and Minamata disease are characteristic of the environmental pollution problems in Japan. Actually, however,. how much are the Japanese affected in their daily lives by these problems?

To what extent does pollution affect Japanese society in general? It is difficult to answer these questions, but I will discuss the example of

Tokyo to show how the problem in Japan continues to worsen. 1 Collapse of the Ecological System in Tokyo

Since 1955, biologists have observed special phenomena which indicate the gradual breakdown of Tokyo's ecological system:

(a) leaves of zelkova trees fell more than twice in one year,

(b) leaves of evergreen trees fell before their new leaves appeared,

(c) pasania and oak were dying,

(d) a metamorphosis appeared among frogs: the spawn of toads, for

example, became abnormal, and some female toads were dis­

covered to have one abnormal ovary.

Even the casual observer could see that many living creatures were disappearing from Tokyo. In the 1950's familiar insects which hatch in ponds -such as fireflies, dragonflies, Japanese water beatles, water spiders and mantises -disappeared. Simultaneously, land animals also began to disappear. Along with the disappearance of the dragonfly, aquatic animals of higher orders such as the blue-green snake, the bat, the mole and several species of spiders also disappeared. Insects such as beetles and grasshoppers also disappeared by 1965. Currently we can rarely find even the crucian carp in the streams and rivers of western

Tokyo. We are informed that in the immediate future the only animals capable of surivivng in Tokyo will be those which are to some degree -5-

parasitic on humans, such as rats, pigeons and cockroaches.

The vegetation in the Tokyo region, generally speaking, was

originally a wilderness of annual plants. In the next stage, it changed

to a plain of Japanese pampas grass, which gave way in turn to copses

of deciduous broad-leaved trees like the chestnut and the Japanese oak.

Finally, the vegatation stabilized into copses of pasania and oak. Re-

cently, however, some of the. pasania and ·oak which constitute compo-

nents of the stable condition of a copse have begun to fall. According

to recent research even certain kinds of moss are disappearing from the

central areas in Tokyo.

On the basis of these phenomena, researchers conclude that as

far as the animal and vegetable kingdoms are concerned, Tokyo's

ecology is chaotic. Mor.eover, researchers trace the various kinds of

biological phenomena described above, and insist that as a result of

. . . increasing environmental pollution the existing ecology of Tokyo collapsed

rapidly about 1960, and a catastrophe of the ecological equilibrium in the

city ensued.

Furthermore, researchers discovered that this period of the dis­

appearance of the dragonfly was concomitant with the period of the

·.destruction of the children's natural playgrounds and of the appearance

of the "nature -lost" feeling among the citizens. Now researchers

foresee the possibility of a causal relationship between the collapse of

this ecological system and the destruction of the natural environment

of Tokyo. -6-

2 Air Pollution in Tokyo

July 18, 1970 was a never -to -be -forgotten day in the history of

Japanese air pollution. For the first time, a large-scale incident of photochemical smog occurred in the air of Tokyo. Many residents sud­ denly began to complain of sore throat, eye irritation, and paralysis of the feet throughout the metropolitan area of Tokyo. More than 6,000 reported abnormal symptons to Health Centers. The Metropolitan

Environmental Hazards Research Institute concluded that the symptons were caused by photochemical smog. The next day's paper sensationally reported this shocking news. The people in Tokyo were subsequently spared the discomfort of that smog for five days, from July 23 to 27. The smog occurred once more on August 5. For the period from July 18 to

August 5 the number of victims reached more than 19,000. They re­ ported to health centers that they suffered from eye irritation, sore . throat and the like. In 1971 the first injuries caused by photochemical smog appeared on May 12. The total number of victims during the year was more than 30,000. This was only the number of victims reported to health centers. Meanwhile, in the area supposedly contaminated by photochemical smog, many plant injuries were observed, especially to vegetables like spinach. The main symptom was the decolorization of chlorophyll. Arnong trees it was conspicuously observed that zelkova trees dropped their leaves.

The Metropolitan Environmental Hazards Research Institute, which

1s vigorously 1nanaging the research into this photochemical smog in

Tokyo, has published a report in which they made an analysis of Tokyo smog in comparison with smog in the United States, especially in -7-

Los Angeles. According to the report, Tokyo smog registered a dif-

ferent daily pattern of the concentration of oxidant, NO, and N0 than 2 the smog of Los Angeles. These phenomena, the report says, seem to

be accounted for by the fact that in Tokyo there are some primary pol-

luting materials not observed in Los Angeles, and they cause a different

chemical reaction. The following is a comparison o£ Tokyo smog with

Los Angeles smog with respect to meteorological phenomena, the con-

centration of the primary polluting materials and the amount of major

polluting materials discharged:

Meteorological phenomena. The precipitation in Tokyo is three

tim.es that of Los Angeles. The clear-weather rate is 52o/o in Tokyo

and 68o/o in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles climate is mild, but Tokyo's

is one of high temperature and high humidity (especially from June to

August).

Primary polluting materials. The concentrations of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter in Tokyo are higher than those in Los Angeles.

In contrast, the concentrations 'of carbon monoxide (CO) and nitrogen oxides in Tokyo are lower than those in Los Angeles.

Major sources of polluting materials. The major discharging sources of polluting materials are the automobiles and industrial plants in both cities, but the ratio is different. In Tokyo, automobiles account for 88.1o/o while factories cause only 11.9o/o. The automobile density in 2 Tokyo is three times that in Los Angeles: 1,179 per km in Tokyo, . 2 .. 379 per k:tn in Los Angeles (1968).

Consequently, there is cl. contrast between Tokyo and Los Angeles, and it is believed that the differences in air 'pollution account for the -8- appearance' of night smog in Tokyo. Night smog refers to the rise in concentration of oxidant during the night. At the time when continuous observation of oxidant levels began in 1967, night smog had already been observed in Tokyo. Usually, the night concentration of oxidant begins to rise about 6 p.m. and reaches a peak between 8 p.m. and midnight. Factors contributing to night smog are still in doubt; at present, the following points are at issue:

a) It is possible that the oxidant, which is stagnant high up in the sky during the day, is brought to the surface of the earth by means of the descending air current?

b) If so, what is the major component of the oxidant? Is it ozone or more stable materials?

c) Is there something among the primary polluting materials which seems to show the same chemical characteristics as ozone?

In any case, two problems about night smog are urgent. The first is to determine weather conditions through meteorological observations, at the moment of appearance of night smog. 'It should be noted that smog occurs frequently in the winter season. The other is to .make more precise analysis of the components of the oxidant by means of various new types of measuring apparatus.

The major source of air pollution, especially photochemical smog m Tokyo, is automobile exhaust. This fact is perfectly clear. But it is still unclear (a) what secondary polluting materials are produced by means of photoche1nical reactions in the atmosphere, caused by the large. concentrations of sulfur dioxide and particulate matter, and (b) what ensues as the result of the compounding of primary polluting materials -9-

with secondary polluting materials. However, it is certain that dif-

ferent chemical reactions occur in Los Angeles and Tokyo, and that

the Tokyo resident is more seriously affected.

In 1972, Tokyo smog in a new form attac~d many citizens. On

May 12, 111 pupils in one of Tokyo's junior high schOols .suddenly

complained of sore throat, eye irritation and other symptoms caused by

photochemical smog. Nine of them were in serious condition and re-

ceived medical treatment; five of these pupils fainted. All of the victims

attended class in a room located on the third floor of the school. No

injury was reported among pupils on the playground or in the classrooms

on the first floor. Before this time it was believed that persons indoors

were not affected when Tokyo smog descended, but this common-sense

assumption was now completely overthrown . In this new case, apparently,

photochemical smog hung at an altitude of six to ten meters, as a

stagnant cloud of noxious gases, and seemed to 11 attack" the third floor

of the school, leaving the playground and lower floors unaffected.

Newspapers called it a "photochemical guerrilla, 11 and reported that

authorities, in desperation, said the only means of prevention was the

elimination of exhaust fumes as the principal offender. The citizen of ' Tokyo is now confronted with this serious form of air,pollution. 3 Attitudes ofTokyo Citizens Toward Environmental Pollution Problems

At the same time air pollution in Tokyo is getting worse, other

kinds of environmental pollution are also worsening. For instance,

consider the disposition of trash. During the past 10 years, the trash

in Tokyo not only doubled in quantity, but also transformed in quality

to a terrible extent. Presently the percentage of plastics in the trash -10-

has reached 10.3 o/o. In September 1971 the governor of the Tokyo

metropolitan district declared "the war agaipst trash" and said that

11 ••• if the citizen in Tokyo doesn't participate extensively in the war

against trash, we cannot gain ultimate victory." If changes are n_ot

made, within afew years it will be impossible to dispose of Tokyo's

trash.

The situation is the same with respect to water pollution and other

forms of pollution.

How are these environmental pollution problems viewed by the

people of Tokyo? In March 1971, The Metropolitan Office undertook

a public opinion survey about the environmental pollution problems.

From the results of this survey I will try to analyze the citizens'

attitudes towards environmental pollution problems.

First, how accurate is their knowledge of environmental pollution

problems? In reflecting the actual situation of environmental pollution

in Tokyo, the citizens 1 images of environmental pollution are concrete

and realistic. Almost one-third of them (29.8o/o) associate the auto­ mobile with the words 11 environmental pollution". Almost all citizens believe that things are getting worse (80. 9o/o ) and anticipate that in the future things will continue to worsen. They are frightened by sickness ' caused by pollution, and this kind of anxiety permeates half of the citizens

(49. 8o/o ). They even believe (65.4o/o ) that it will be necessary to use a gas mask to carry out their daily activities in 10 or 15 years, if the pollution continues to increase at the present rate. Most of them

(73. Oo/o ) are even skeptical toward modern science itself. -11-

Accordingly, it is evident that as far as Tokyo residents are con­

cerned, the pollution problems are becoming more and more serious.

What about their attitudes toward the change of their surroundings?

Judging from the following responses, there is recognition of deteriora­

tion of the environment:

a) 11 The water of the river has become more dirty" (64. 8o/o )

b) 11 The air has become more dirty" (59.2 o/o )

c) 11 The surroundings have become more noisy" (55.5o/o)

d) 11 Vegetation has become 1nore scarce" (51.2%)

e) "Large buildings have become more numerous'' (44.8%)

f) 11 Factories have become more numerous" (42.2%)

g) "Flowers in the garden have become more scarce" (40.1 o/o )

h) "Sunlight has become more limited" (21.2%)

i) "City streets have become more prevalent" (19.2%)

j) "There are fewer parks and playgrounds" (15.7o/o ).

These responses show that the citizens of Tokye> are strongly

conscious of the deterioration in their surroundings. A little less than

half of them (43. 6% ) feel that the natural life of Tokyo has largely dis­

appeared. Most people are so pessimistic they believe that the present

' natural life of Tokyo, far from being protected, will be even more

drastically destroyed in the future. Only one third of them (36. 7o/o)

find satisfaction in nature in Tokyo and in their surroundings. These

attitudes bring about a negative view concerning both the development

of housing lots (53.1%) and additional road building (49.2% ). Also,

these attitudes shape a critical image they have of the metropolis such

that they want the city to have plenty of natural surroundings, even at -12- the sacrifice of convenience (47.6 o/o)· The citizens of Tok'yo donothave

a garden, and there are very few who have a garden area of more tf1an

33 square meters.

As-mentioned above, .it is very apparent to the citizens that they have been exposed to air pollution and other environmental hazards and that they are caught in destructive surroundings. They realize that they are in a dangerous situation.

Some Basic Causes of Pollution in Japan

Wihy have environmental pollution hazards in Tokyo as well as the rest of Japan increased at such an alarming rate? Why has Japan become such a highly industrialized country with so much environmental pollution? In order to answer these questions, I will discuss some of the background that led to the environmental pollution problems in 4 Japan.

First, we must take notice of the obvious fact that the Japanese economy has grown enormously as a result of the high-growth policy, especially after the late 1960's.

Consider iron and petroleum output for instance. The total output of pig iron for 47 'ears from 1917 to 1964 was almost equal to the output for 5 years from 1964 to 1969; more precisely, the former was some­ what surpassed by the latter. The output of steel is similar. In the early 1960's the output of steel was 20,000,000 tons a year; in 1970, the output reached 80,000,000 tons a year. The case for petroleum is the same as for iron. When comparison is made of the total amount of imported crude oil in 43 years from 1921 to 1964 with that in the 5 years from 1965 through 1969, the former is again surpassed by the latter. -13-

The latter is 1. 7. times as large as the former. Moreover, the total

output of the petrochemical industry in 1969 was three times as large as

it was in 1959. The total output of the chemical industry exceeds that

of Western Germany and is the second largest output in the world.

Consequently, as long as other conditions are not changed

drastically we cannot avoid the increasing contamination of air and

water. To reverse this trend the maximum permissible discharge of

pollution into the envir()nment must be diminished in inverse proportion

to the rising output. But Japan did not follow this necessary course.

On the contrary, she overlooked these facts and continued straight on

the course of high economic growth. Some of the industrial plants, far

from exercising more strict control of pollution, even omitted equipment

that would make such control possible.

Another problem is that modern technology brings forth new types

of environmental pollution, by heavy metals and chemical synthetics.

Cadmium and mercury are representative of the former; plastics and

agricultural chemicals like DDT are typical of the latter.

Up to the present time, preventive measures against pollution

took the form of regulations permitting a limited concentration .of pol­

' luting materials. Once heavy metals and chemical synthetics are dis­

charged, however, they continue to accwnulate in the human body, and

even though their toxic qualities are weak and their quantities are low,

gradually their toxic effects become more and more severe. Minamata

disease is certainly an example of this~

Plastics are not degraded in nature, so the problem of disposing

of plastic· wastes is becoming urgent. When they are buried for disposal -14-

purposes the ground becomes too soft to support buildings, and if they

arc thrown intci the sea, they adhere to the bottom and smother sea

life there.

In short, the technology of our time produces pollutants in such

large quantities that pollution can only be prevented by finding some way

of nullifying their toxic qualities.

Why has the high degree of economic growth been continued while

overlooking the serious accumulation of environmental pollution hazards?

First, the physical conditions in Japan inust be considered. .For

example, consider the rivers of Japan. The total quantity of water in

these rivers is surely high for the year, but there are rapid seasonal

variations. This means that at certain times the quantity of water

available cannot sufficiently dilute the pollution which is discharged into

the rivers. Another consideration is overpopulation. The area of Japan 2 is 370,000 km , which is a thirtieth of that of the United States and 1.5

times as large as Western Germany and England. But in Japan the

useable residential area is only 20 o/o of the total area, compared with

80% in England. As of 1969, there were eight persons per auton}..bile

in Japan: in Europe there are four or five. The overall density of the

. automobile in Japan is lower than in Europe, in terms of total area. '

But the density of automobiles in the useable residential area is 86 per 2 km in Japan, 54 in England, 70 in Western Germany, 29 in France,

and 19 in the USA. Therefore, when the overall density of automobiles

in Japan becomes the same as in Europe, the automobile density in

residential areas will become twice that in Europe. Naturally, air

pollution in Japan cannot help but become more serious than in other

countries. -:-15-

Along with these physical conditions, social conditions in Japan

must be considered as well. It seems to me that the following social

conditions helped cause the pollution hazards in Japan. First, the

social barriers in communities were so rigid that residents had to

separately confront polluters. Second, the local and national admini­

strations in Japan had little interest in .the troubles of community

residents and were favorably disposed toward private industry. As the

Minamata disease case eloquently points out these social conditions

helped to cause the residents to suffer from pollution for a long time.

The people endured their pains, and they directly faced up to their

poll~tion troubles. Through their desperate and distressing movement

against pollution the dangerous aspects of environmental pollution have

been made public. Now, at last, the court of justice, leading the

legislature and the administration, has begun to give help to these

people, in the form of compensation.

'

/ -16-

References

1. Yuzuru Shinada, II The dying natural environment of Tokyo-Collapse

of the Ecological System in the City, 11 Bunkazai,. 1971.

2. Toshio Ohira, 11 Tokyo smog, 11 Jurist, No. 492, 1971.

3. The Metropolitan Public Information Center, The public opinion

survey about the natural environment of Tokyo, 1971.

11 11 4. Jun Ui, What should you do in the critical situation of pollution? ,

Tenbo, No. 145, 1971; Mitsuharu Ito, 11 What's underway now?, 11

Tenbo, No. 147, 1971. r------LEGALNOTICE------~

This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by the United States Government. Neither the United States nor the United States Atomic Energy Commission, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. ,, "" TECHNICAL INFORMATION DIVISION LAWRENCE BERKELEY LABORATORY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 94720