Japan: An Environmental Profile

In 1989, Japan's population was 123.3 million. For a country of its size, that is a burgeoning mass. In 1989, the population of the United States, which in land area is many times larger than Japan, was only 246.3 million. Furthermore, over 75% of Japan's people live in cities. In 1980, TokyoYokohama ranked as the largest city in the world.

With such a large populationurban and ruralJapan must consume considerable quantities of resources. For example, in the mid1980s, it had over 29 million automobiles. The country thus ranks among the world's highest in the number of people per car. However, whether the nation can be said to preserve, conserve, or exploit its natural wealth, really depends on the specific resource.

For example, Japan is among the world's top oil consumers.

Between 1970 and 1988, its net imports of oil grew 15%. More

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energy. Such environmentally favorable attitudes though, do not carry over into all aspects of the nation's economy. Japan is a major importer of timber. Most of this wood comes from Asiathe preferred target of lumber firms. As these forests are completely destroyed, the timber industry is expected to shift its focus towards Amazonia. Estimates predict that, if current trends continue, the rainforests may be gone before the year 2000. Thus Japan tends to exploit timber resources. Another area of the Japanese economy where the exploitation of resources prevails is the fishing industry. The Japanese have been known to engage in both factoryfishing and driftnet fishing. These activities threaten the world's fisheries. In recent years, for instance, the catch of pelagic fish in the Northwest Pacific has decreased dramatically. In addition, the waters immediately surrounding the island nation have been extensively exploited by fishermen. Finally, although they can hardly be called a resource, Japan is also a major producer of pesticides. These chemicals are manufactured for both domestic use and export. In 1987, as a result of government agricultural subsidies, Japan used over 150 kg (1.1 lbs) of p
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Approximate Word count = 1641
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)

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