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About U.S.-Japan Environmental Cooperation
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) enjoys broad-ranging relationships with a number of Japanese government and quasi-government organizations involved in the protection of the environment.
The principal focus of activity with Japan related to the U.S. EPA's domestic responsibilities and programs falls under the 1975 U.S. - Japan Agreement on Cooperation in Environmental Protection. Since the implementation of the Agreement, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been the Executive Agency on the U.S. side, and the Environment Agency of Japan is EPA's counterpart. The Agreement provides for a Joint Planning and Coordination Committee which meets to exchange views on policy matters, to review existing cooperation, and to provide direction for future work.
The U.S. EPA also participates actively in work under the Implementing Arrangement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Japan. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) plays a significant policy and funding role for research activities in Japan. The MITI-EPA cooperation is part of the Common Agenda for Cooperation in Global Perspective.
In 1993, President Clinton and Prime Minister Miyazawa launched the Common Agenda as part of the U.S.-Japan Framework for a New Economic Partnership. Since its inception, the Common Agenda has emerged as one of the world's most successful partnerships in addressing critical global challenges in diverse areas such as health and population, environment, narcotic drugs trafficking, technology, and economic development.
EPA and MITI's Agency of Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have a number of efforts ongoing under the Common Agenda, and are currently developing new cooperative activities related to global warming, and the protection of the tropospheric and stratospheric ozone layers. The new activities will include work with the Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth, which will advance the common goal of applying innovative environmental technology.
There are also other examples of technical cooperation between the U.S. and Japan in fields related to environmental protection and management. The U.S. has a long history of cooperation with the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) on matters concerning low-level radiation matters, and of cooperation with the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES), which is currently focused on risk assessment and management related to human exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UV-B).
