Updates of Water Environment
Governance in JapanHASHIMOTO Tsubasa

Deputy Director, Water Environment Division,Environment Management Bureau, Ministry of the Environment, JapanThe 15th WEPA Annual Meeting
8 February 2020
BangkokFacts and statistics of water quality• Living Environment Items:

Improvement in overall trend, but achievement rate still low in closed
water bodies such as lakes and inland seas.
Rivers: 94.6%(2018)
Total: 89.6%(2018)

Achievement rate (%)

Seas: 79.2%(2018)

1874
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
19992000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018

Lakes: 54.3%(2018)

year

Trends in achievement of BOD/COD environmental standardFacts and statistics of domestic wastewater
management

Ratio of people covered by domestic wastewater treatment system (2000 – 2018)

Facts and statistics of Industrial wastewater
management
Number of specified establishments
Average effluent more than 50㎥/day
Article 5（Establishment of Specified
facilities）
Notification
Article 7（Structure changes etc.）
Article 8（Order to change plans）
Number of establishments inspected （Article 22.1）
Inspection during night
Order for Improvement（Article 13）
Order to suspend operation（Article 13）
Order to purify groundwater（Article 14.3）
Number ofIn writing
administrative Oral
direction
Total(Public Water)
Installation or improvement ofContents ofwastewater treatment facilities
administrative
Temporary suppression of effluent
direction
Others(Public Water)
Total
Violation of effluent standards（Article 31.1.1）
Violation of order for improvement（Article 30）
Violation of water pollution control law (others)
Measures to be taken in case of an accident

2013
269,449
32,5892014
266,875
32,381

2015
264,924
31,935

2016
262,872
31,6992017
262,098
31,441

5,786

6,026

6,178

6,159

6,477

4,105
0
39,490
465
11
0
0
2,503
4,753

5,006
0
41,110
510
8
30
2,556
4,981

4,627
0
37,810
492
5
0
0
2,185
5,168

4,141
0
38,163
510
12
0
0
2,373
5,701

4,115
0
36,194
484
11
2
0
2,235
5,565

7,256

7,537

7,353

8,074

7,800

1,946

2,192

2,053

2,127

1,960

7
5,613
7,566
4
00
565

20
5,651
7,863
4
00
557

18
5,489
7,560
300
509

285,836
7,991
200483

176,017
7,994
100520Legislative framework for water environmental
governance
Basic law for environmental pollution control (1967)※Replaced by the environment basic law in 1993

◆Establishment of Environmental Quality Standard (EQS)• EQS for the protection of human health (Health Item)• EQS for the conservation of the living environment (Living Environment Item)

Water Pollution Control Law (1970)◆Overcoming “Follow-up” approach• From designation of regulation area to national uniform regulation• Unified national effluent standards + more at local level, if needed◆Tightening of regulations for compliance• Direct penalty for non-compliance of effluent standards◆Unification of law system in principle• Unification of effluent standards for all business (with some exceptions)Institutional framework for water environmental
governance (1/3)
TargetEstablishment of Environmental Quality Standard【Environment Basic Law 】
・Establishment of Effluent Standard

Nationalgovernment【Water Pollution Control Law】

Uniform Effluent Standard

Measures forIndustrial
Wastewater・More Stringent Effluent Standards 【Water Pollution Control Law】
・Regulations for the Private Companies 【Water Pollution Control Law】
Notification ,Measure and log pollution status
Local government(Prefecture)of effluent, On-site inspections→Penalty, Order remedy, other administrative directions
・Investment to pollution control
・Development of human capacities

Measures for
Domestic
Wastewater

Nationalgovernment

etc.

・Construction of sewerage 【Sewerage Law 】
・Installation of Johkasou 【Johkasou Law 】 etc.

Industries
・National government
・Local government
・Individual

Institutional framework for water environmental
governance (2/3)
Environmental Quality Standard (EQS)• Established as part of the government’s objectives (standards that are tobe followed) to prevent health hazards and conserve the livingenvironment” by the Environment Basic Law.
 “Effluent Standards” are applied on factories
and establishments in order to satisfy “EQS”
 In consideration of dilution effect by riverwater, an effluent standard value for a certain
item is decided as 10 times as anenvironment quality standard for the sametime.

Effluent
Standard

EQS for water For some specific business categories
that face difficulty to meet the uniform
effluent standard for a specific item,
a temporary effluent standard is applied by specifying a time limit

Institutional framework for water environmental
governance (3/3)
Flat wastewater standards set by the national government(minimum control applied nationwide)
Healthitems
Typesof control tightening
Applied to all factories/establishments

Living environment items
Applied to factories/establishments with
wastewater discharge of 50 m3/day or more

Prefectural governments authorized to tighten
controls, according to local conditions

More Stringent by prefecture
Prefectural ordinances to set more stringent wastewater standard values if the flat standards are
not sufficient (for example, preventing the realization of Environmental Quality“Hem down” by prefecture
Extend application of the Living Environment Items to factories/establishmentswith less than 50 m3/day wastewater discharge“Side stretch” by prefecture
Introduce additional wastewater control items on top of the flat wastewater standards

Water quality monitoring framework
Public waters (river, lake, sea) and the water quality in ground water is monitored.
 Understanding of the water quality characteristics of water area
 Achievement & maintenance of environmental standard for water quality
 Implementation of environmental protection measures
 Understanding of long-term changes & water quality trends
 Response to water pollution incidents
 Early detection of water pollution

Government
ordinance city
(Water quality measurement in
the government ordinance city)

Prefecture(Water quality measurement of river, lake, seaand underground water)Formulation of water quality measurement plan
Formulated in order to coordinate with the Ministry of Land,

Infrastructure and Transport and government ordinance city and to Consultation
 Water quality
Adjustment effectively conduct continuous monitoring of water quality.
measurement
 Results of water quality
Water quality measurement
measurements- Health items (cadmium, all cyanogen, etc.)
Obtaining- Living environment items (BOD, COD, all zinc,water
etc. of aquatic life item,)Sampling

Ministry of Land, Infrastructureand Transport(Water quality measurement of themain parts of first-grade rivers)
 Water quality measurement
 Results of water quality
measurements

Information disclosure White paper Homepage
 Results of water quality
measurement

Analysis

Distribution of water quality
measuring points in public
waters throughout thecountry

Water environmentalsynthesis information siteSummarizing the results of water quality measurement

Direction, notice, technical advice required forthe continuous monitoring of water quality
Number ofmeasuring points(FY2018)
Health items: 5,347
Living environment
items: 7,079

Ministry ofEnvironment Decision of Environmental Conservation Measure Formulation of a Basic Environment Plan Environmental Quality Standards, effluent control Analytical method, research method
 Transaction standards for continuous monitoring, etc.
 Response to water pollution incident

Reporting theresults

Official- Response to a water pollution incident
announcement- Response to the excess of environmental quality standards or thewater areas that fails to achieve environmental quality standards

Collection & analysis of water
quality data of the country
and database creation

Enforcement instruments for water environment
management
Nationwide regulations o factories
or commercial facilities

Pre-regulation

Report installation or change of specified facility/
designated facility storing harmful substances

Order toChange Plans

On-site inspections & Reports collected

Order remedy
Order suspension

Measure and log pollution status of effluent

RegularRegulationPenalty
Effluent regulations
Prohibition of water containing substancesclassified as toxins infiltrating into groundwater

Emergency
Measures

Order to take measuresrelated to purification

Water Pollution due to abnormal water shortage, etc

Water Quality Monitoring
At Public Water Area

Order to takeemergency measures

Emergency measures & report of accidents

Measurement Programby prefectural government

Implementation of regular monitoring
Announcement of monitoring results

Domestic Water
Control

Designation of important areas
by prefectural government

Establishment of plan for promotion of implementationof domestic wastewater measures by municipalities

Total pollutant load control
in enclosed coastal seas

The government’s “Fundamental
Policy for Reduction of Total
Pollution Load”

Establishment of “Plan for Reduction of Total
Pollution Load” by prefectural governments andregulations

Future targets/plans, issues and challenges ofEffects of climate
water environment governancechangeChanges in river flow andwater quality, andobstacles to sediment flow

Improvement of peoplefriendly water spaces

Water quality
improvement in lakes

Water quality
issuesDeterioration inaquatic ecosystemand biodiversity
Groundwater pollution
and soil contamination
Surfactants, POPs,marine debris,
coastal erosion, etc.
Seawater pollution, marine
waste

Delay of water quality improvement
in closed water bodies