こんにちわ！(Konnichiwa!) It means ‘Hello’ in Japanese. I am Bang Wen Han, a first-year student pursuing Environmental Studies at the National University of Singapore (NUS).
I am particularly interested in the study of environmental conservation efforts and the psychology driving them. Some of my hobbies include boxing, playing the ukulele, and whiling my time away in the National Gallery.
You might be wondering why I chose to talk about Japan’s environmental culture. It all started with my gruelling interest in Japanese culture since childhood (thanks to the tons of anime I’ve watched). I have been to Japan twice; once to Honshu (Tokyo and Osaka) and the second time to Hokkaido (Sapporo and Asahikawa). I was deeply fascinated by the aesthetics of Japan’s natural landscapes and urban architecture, as well as the geniality of the locals.
During my secondary school days, I vividly remembered being taught the Kyoto Protocol which encompassed the goal of reducing carbon emissions and greenhouse gases on a global scale. In my final year of Polytechnic, my group was allowed to present our FYP (Final Year Project) in an International Symposium on Technology and Sustainability hosted by Japan and Indonesia. This provided me with a brilliant opportunity to befriend Japanese delegates from prefectures all over Japan. They gave me several insights as to ways how Japan inculcates environmental awareness into its citizens. These exposures fuelled my passion to dig deeper into the factors contributing to Japan’s stance in conservation efforts.
Japan has always been the pinnacle of environmental sustainability in Asia, which is a source of Japanese pride. Based on Forbes 2020, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) which evaluates countries based on ‘environmental health and ecosystem vitality’ ranked Japan 12th in the world and 1st in Asia. According to a website, Japan is filled with forests and mountains. 25 million hectares of land, which makes up approximately 67% of Japan’s landmass is covered by forests. Faced with land constraints and almost no natural resources (refer to this URL), how is Japan able to consistently modulate and keep up with the standards of environmental sustainability?
In this blog, I will share the unique practices adopted by the Japanese, ranging from their environmental views to eco-friendly approaches to countermeasures against adversities faced. Of course, I will also highlight the ways that Singapore can perhaps learn from Japan’s environmental culture. Stay tuned for more exciting feeds!
-Wen Han
(Cover Photo by Aleksandar Pasaric from Pexels)