Time for a Change in Japanese Water Resources Policy, Part 1: Historical Review of Water Resources Management Policy and Challenges for the Future

Abstract

This paper reviews river administration from the Meiji era until the end of World War II, before discussing problems in water resources management after World War II. It shows that the serious floods, water shortages and pollution problems which occurred after World War II have been considerably improved by applying structural and non-structural measures, as well as by applying new technologies developed in each field. Based on a historical review of water resources management policy in Japan, the paper identifies new problems associated with climate change, population decrease, and the discussions on centralization or decentralization of the governance of water resources management in Japan.

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Ms Akiko Goda and Ms Izumi Hasegawa at The University of Tokyo for their contributions towards this paper. The paper was collaboratively prepared together with Professor T. Oki.