Abstract

Asia-Pacific lacks an environmental leader. Japan, a forerunner of environmental regulation in the 1970s, started to engage in active environmental diplomacy in the post-Cold War era by hosting conferences of parties to multilateral environmental agreements such as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as well as providing a massive amount of environmental aid. Then, in the 2000s, Japan’s initiatives became substantially weakened and have gained a negative international reputation as the country took a considerably passive position to the Paris Agreement, filed many reservations to the CITES listing decisions, and withdrew from the International Whaling Commission. This article explores, through six brief case studies, the factors and structures that systemically impede Japan’s environmental leadership and norm internalization. It highlights the constraining factors behind Japan’s devolution including its closed bureaucratic system and the lack of positive engagement of Japanese scientists. Finally, it addresses the future prospects of environmental cooperation in the Asia-Pacific.

中文翻译：

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日本的环境外交与亚太环境合作的未来

摘要

亚太地区缺乏环境领导者。日本是1970年代环境法规的先驱，在冷战后时代开始积极参与环境外交，它主持了多边环境协定缔约方会议，例如《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》（ CITES）和《联合国气候变化框架公约》（UNFCCC），并提供了大量的环境援助。然后，在2000年代，日本的倡议被大大削弱，并在国际上获得了负面的声誉，因为该国对《巴黎协定》采取了相当被动的立场，对《濒危野生动植物种国际贸易公约》的上市决定提出了许多保留，并退出了国际捕鲸委员会。本文通过六个简短的案例研究，系统地阻碍日本的环境领导和规范内化的因素和结构。它强调了日本权力下放的制约因素，包括其封闭的官僚体系和日本科学家缺乏积极参与。最后，它谈到了亚太地区环境合作的未来前景。