Environmental issues
It has to be said that first impressions of Japan's natural
environment tend not to be very positive. In the postwar era there
has been a massive shift towards an urbanized society, a society
where successful people move to the city not away from it and
where, for the younger generation in particular, contact with
nature can be limited to walks in the park with the dog. Cities
sprawl in all directions, a confusing mess of power cables and
pulsing neon, with little evidence of planning controls. When you
do reach the countryside, electricity pylons march across every
view, cliffs are shored up with concrete and the coastline consists
of nothing but sea walls and offshore breakwaters.
This can partly be explained by the desire to control, or
attempt to control, the violent natural forces at play -
devastating earthquakes, tidal waves, monsoons, volcanoes - and
partly the economic and political might of the construction
industry. In the words of one of Japan's leading activists,
Yamashita Hirofumi, "Japan's postwar development has had a
disastrous impact on the natural environment". Whatever the reason,
it comes as something of a shock. After all, this is the nation
justly famous for its cherry blossom and fiery autumn colours,
which announces the changing seasons on the national news and which
prides itself on its heightened aesthetic awareness.
However, nature does still play a pivotal role in Japanese life,
as well as its literature, art and religion. Spectacular areas of
unspoilt natural beauty are still to be found and there's a growing
awareness of the need to safeguard them. The best require a little
effort to reach, but even the largest cities contain important
havens in their parks and shrine gardens.
Catherine Whyte
(With thanks to Maggie Suzuki and Richard Wilcox)
Additional material by Jan Dodd
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