In Japan the national government is
responsibleforformulatingand
implementing water resources policies at
the national level. It formulates an overall
plan of water resources development and
environmental conservation. Under the
framework of the national policy, local
governments take charge of operation,
maintenanceandmanagementof
waterworks, water treatment facilities, and
water utilities (see Figure 3.1).
Local governments.In general, local
governments in Japan operate, maintain
and manage domestic, industrial, and
sewerage water utilities and related
facilities 5 . As of the end of FY2003, local
governments managed 1,936 larger water
utilities and 8,360 small-scaled water
utilities. As a result, the proportion of the
total population with access to improved
water sources reached 96.9% in 2003. Local
government agencies also continuously
monitor public water quality and supervise
private entities to ensure that wastewater
effluent standards are being met.
Organizational Structure
The national government. In Japan, the
national government formulates and
implements comprehensive policies such as
those for water resources development, the
administration of waterworks, and the
protection of water quality. Five related
ministries (Ministry of Land, Transport and
Infrastructure, Ministry of the Environment,
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare,
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry,
Ministry of Agriculture, Forest and
Fisheries) take charge of the various
administrative areas, and cooperate with
each other to formulate water-related
policies.
The Ministry of the Environment primarily
plans and formulates policies and
guidelines relating to water conservation
including the setting of Environmental
Water Quality Standards and water
pollution control measures (the Effluent
Standard settings).
Overall Water Resources Planning
The national government takes charge of
overall planning of both water resources
developmentandenvironmental
conservation. The Comprehensive National
Water Resources Plan is the national basic
plan for water resources development
under which dams and water systems are
developed. The Basic Environment Plan
clarifieslong-term,comprehensive
environmental policies related to water
quality and quantity, including water
conservation.