{"id":21192,"date":"2020-10-21T00:50:22","date_gmt":"2020-10-21T00:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/?p=21192"},"modified":"2023-04-17T09:54:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-17T16:54:33","slug":"japan-two-decades-of-ecological-footprinting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/2020\/10\/21\/japan-two-decades-of-ecological-footprinting\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan: Two Decades of Ecological Footprinting"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated April 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 1996, Japan was the first country to officially adopt the Ecological Footprint. Now, Global Footprint Network works with Ecological Footprint Japan<\/a> to serve Japan\u2019s cities, businesses, regional governments, national ministries, research organizations, and NGOs.<\/p>\n

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\nGovernment Engagement<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Public Awareness<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Business Footprinting<\/a><\/span><\/h4>\n

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<\/a>History of the Ecological Footprint in Japan<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Japan, home to the world\u2019s most populous metropolitan area (Tokyo) and the third largest economy in the world, has historically been very resource conscious due to its limited biocapacity. The Ecological Footprint was first mentioned in an official Japanese government document in 1996, seven years before Global Footprint Network was founded. The early foothold in Japan was facilitated by Yoshihiko Wada, Ph.D., a professor of economics at Doshisha University. Prof. Wada collaborated with Dr. Mathis Wackernagel on Footprint research in its early years and also received his PhD under Professor William E. Rees.<\/p>\n

In 2012, Mathis Wackernagel and Bill Rees jointly received Japan\u2019s prestigious environmental prize: the Blue Planet Prize<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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click image to view full size<\/p>\n


\n<\/a>Government Engagement<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n

The Japanese Ministry of the Environment’s 2018 Annual Report<\/a> featured the Ecological Footprint results for Japan and highlighted Global Footprint Network’s Kyoto city project, completed in collaboration with IDEA Consultants and WWF Japan (pages 68-70). The report noted that if everyone in the world lived like residents in Kyoto, we would need two Earths. This metric would drop to 1.4 Earths if Kyoto achieves its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 40% in 2030 from 1990 levels.<\/p>\n

The country’s Ministry of the Environment first included the Ecological Footprint in its 1996 Annual White Paper<\/a>, which was the first major step by the national government to take action on sustainability. Since then, the Footprint has been a key indicator in several of Japan\u2019s sustainability campaigns. Highlights (in chronological order) include:<\/p>\n