The nature of voluntary agreements in Japan — functions of Environment and Pollution Control Agreements

In Japan, Environment and Pollution Control Agreements (EPCAs) have been an important local environmental policy tool. This paper aims to define the current functions of EPCAs in Japan based on the authorʹs empirical research. The most important characteristic of EPCAs is that they can set up particular environmental policies according to the locality. The eight functions of EPCAs are: (1) to regulate some activity while national regulations are in preparation, (2) to set standards to protect the areaʹs environment, (3) to regulate major ‘point source polluters’, (4) to regulate substances and issues about which it is difficult to make rules, (5) to regulate activities over which the local governments do not have authority, (6) to reinforce administrative guidance, (7) conflict resolution, and (8) to follow up the Environmental Impact Assessment. The paper contains many case studies to prove the different functions of EPCAs. The paper also examines the environmental effectiveness of the EPCAs.