Major Environmental and Conservation Issues Japan has many environmental concerns and almost as many laws to cover them. Some of the major current concerns are air pollution causing acid rain. This sets off a chain of events that includes acidification of water habitats and damage to fish and wildlife. Japan is one of the major world importers of all kinds of fish and also tropical hardwoods. This is contributing to the loss of species in other countries.
Japan has endless conflict over whaling rights.
This is probably the issue for which they are most criticized. The country is also having many conflicts with Greenpeace , who Japan has been accused of trying to have removed from the International Whaling Commission because the group draws attention and international criticism to Japan's whaling practices. It has also been implied by environmental groups that Japan remains a member of the Whaling Commission, not out of concern for the well-being of this unique species, but for the purpose of formally opposing bans on commercial whaling proposed by the commission or its member nations and groups. Statistics Information Sources Land area 374,744 sq. Only a third of Japan's original forests remain, and the Eco-law Project predicts that if current rates of deforestation continue, all the remaining forest land will be gone within the next ten years.