A Study On Japanese Environmental Diplomacy In East Asia

Based on the the theory of Regional Public Goods, the article expounds the Japanese roots, targets, providing channels and main suppliers for the regional environmental public goods in East Asia. Through the detailed explanations of three environmental public goods, we can conclude Japan’s willingness and aims for the different types of regional environmental public goods, also get the hints of the reason for the low degree of insititutionalization of regional public goods supplying regimes.The United Nations Conference on Human Environment held in Stockholm in 1972 is the starting point for the environment issue becoming one of the studies of International Politics. At the same time, protecting and improving the environment turned to be one of the pressing tasks for the human in the world. With the ending of Cold War, environmental security, as one of the untraditional security issues, got the focus from international society. However, some constructural defects lie in the supply of global public goods for the global environment governance. The self-help state of international society, the privatized international public goods provide by the hegemonies, the debate about whether the developing nations or the developed nations will take more responsibility, all contribute to the undersupply of global environmental public goods.After the Second World War, Japan got huge development in economy and became the second largest economy in the world. However, the economic development brought Japan a series of environmental crisis, and Japan has been once called "Polluted Islands". Since 1960s, Japan has taken strict environmental policies and achieved a lot during 1970-80s. Japan became advanced in environment technologies, products and scientific researches. On the other hand, since 1980s, Japan launched a compaign to become a "Big Nation in International Politics", and promoted its contribution to the international society. Nevertheless Japan has been frustrated in this target. Since the historical memories of Japanese aggressive wars, most of nations held a distrust attitude towards Japanese contribution in the world. The spring-up of Environmental Diplomacy around the world gave Japan a new means to achieve the aim of becoming a big nation in international politics. Japan took more efforts to provide the regional environmental public goods in East Asia, so as to gain the political, enconomical and environmental profits from this area.The nations in East Asia have achieved great development in economy, Japan as the "leading goose", Four Asian Tigers, ASEAN4 and China have successively stepped onto the road of industrialization. Subsequently, the environment in East Asia has been destructed and the ecology was eroding, and air pollution, marine pollution, soil and water degration and forest reduction are some examples of environment problems. Since 1990s, with the rise of global environmental governance, the nations in East Asia have started to build up the supplying regime of regional environmental public goods. Japan, one of the great powers in the world in carrying out environmental diplomacy, has been playing a leading role in the provision of regional environmental public goods. Japan’s function as follows:(1) Playing a leading role in the establishment of environmental governance regimes. (2) Providing environmental ODA, with East Asia as the major area. (3) Promoting the building of regional espitemic community. (4) Japanese enterprises and NGOs playing active role in the provision of regional environmental public goods.Taking the three types of environmental public goods — EANET, NOWPAP and ASEAN environmental governance regimes — as examples, this article illustrates the roles Japan played in the provision. Although Japan played different roles in the provision of different types of regional environmental public goods, it did not take the actually leading role in East Asia. Furthermore, most of nations in East Asia still belong to developing countries, and the economic development level decides their willingness and capacity to provide environmental public goods. In conclusion, the institutionalization levels of environmental public goods providing regimes are still low.In addition, the article explains the obstacles in the building of East Asia Community. It is suggested that, to promote the development of regional environmental public goods, the "We Feeling" will be strengthened, the new common value will be built up, and the economy will be developed sustainably. All that will help the building of East Asia Community.Japan holds the conditions and willingness to take the leading role in providing regional envrironmental public goods. However, its power will be accompanied by the efforts of other nations in East Asia, so as to improve the institutionalization level of providing regimes for public goods. As the newly developed regional power and one of the pollution resources, China should take more roles in the provision of environmental public goods. In the conclusion, some ways and principles are suggested for China to provide public goods at the end of the article.