In Japan also, the employment scale in the environment field as of 1997 reached about 700,000 and the number is estimated to reach about 870,000 in 2010. For the employment measures that are taken by Prefectures, the result of urgent regional employment special grants shows that the environment and recycling fields account for about 30%, which is the highest proportion.

## 3 ) Ripple economical effects by environmental measures

Environmental measures are considered to be expenditures for enterprises, however, for enterprises that manufacture facilities required for implementation of environmental measures, environmental measures are sales. The environment related market is expanding; the environment-related equipment production performance has increased from about 34.1 billion yen in 1966 to 1,643.2 billion yen in 2000. The result of the analysis of the production induction effects and employment creation effects through investments in the environment field estimated by using an inter-industry relations table indicates that environment-related businesses have approximately the same production ripple effects as those of the construction sector industry.

## 4 ) Avoidance of future damage

We tend to become hesitant over the implementation of measures under the current difficult economic situation. For environmental measures, the effects appear in the future while the cost occurs immediately and the benefit spread to the entire society, not to the individual enterprise. Therefore, since the cost bearer does not necessarily gain the benefit associated with the cost, the burden is sometimes avoided or delayed. However, we have already experienced bitter lessons in recent history; when people's health is damaged by environmental pollution, the damage cannot be reversed, the environment is difficult to recover or recovery of the environment is extremely expensive once it is lost.

Transition of production of environment-related equipment in value

Presentation: Prepared by Ministry of the Environment based on the data supplied by Japan Industrial Machine Association.

Cost of damage in pollution-related experiences in Japan and estimated cost for countermeasures

Annual cost of damage	Annual cost for measures
Air pollution in Yokkaichi	21,007 million yen	14,795 million yen
Minamata disease	12,631 million yen	123 million yen
Itai Itai disease	2,518 million yen	602 million yen

Presentation: Prepared by Ministry of the Environment based on "Pollution Experiences of Japan" by Global Environment and Economy Research Institute

For the problems on the global scale, the amount of damage becomes vast and UNEP estimates the total amount of damage will reach 304.2 billion dollars over the entire world when the density of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reaches twice that of the pre-industrial revolution level in 2050.

As discussed adobe, the effects of environmental measures on the economy have various facets. When taken properly, these environmental measures result in economical benefits such as technical innovation, securing of employment and ripple effects. In addition, in the sense of avoiding future damage, environmental measures may give positive effects to the economy.