NIMBY Politics in Japan: Energy Siting and The Management of Environmental Conflict.

• Author: Funaki, Kentaro
• Position: Review

NIMBY Politics in Japan: Energy Siting and The Management of Environmental Conflict

19. Hayden Lesbirel (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1998) 187 pp.

    It is often true that a single community must bear the costs of a project that yields net benefits for society as a whole. "Not In My Back Yard" (NIMBY) refers to the reluctance of local populations to accept the siting of projects such as waste incinerators, landfills and power plants in their areas. Local communities can often delay or force the cancellation of proposed facilities they consider undesirable on safety or aesthetic grounds, even as they recognize the broader social need for such projects. For years the NIMBY syndrome has exerted a strong impact on waste management and power plant siting, and it remains an important phenomenon in democratic countries everywhere. A review of the literature on environmental issues and the NIMBY dilemma shows that Japan is no exception. In particular, the resistance of Japanese communities to power plant sitings has caused the suspension or delay of many projects for which there is genuine social need. This is one of the major obstacles faced by the Japanese government as it tries to achieve its energy policy objectives.

19. Hoyden Lesbirel's book, NIMBY Politics in Japan: Energy Siting and The Management of Environmental Conflict, is a detailed account of power plant siting disputes in post-war Japan. Lesbirel, an associate professor of political science and director of the Centre for East and Southeast Asian Studies at James Cook University in Queensland, Australia, specializes in the political economy of policy formulation and implementation, with a particular interest in energy policy in Japan and general interest in the Pacific Rim of Asia. Based on an investigation of 100 conventional and nuclear power plants in Japan, and drawing on a wide range of local and corporate sources as well as interviews with participants, the book reveals the bargaining processes involved in power plant sitings.

    Lesbirel asks why some siting decisions have taken an extraordinarily long time to complete while others have proceeded relatively rapidly. To answer this, he focuses on three factors: the intensity of conflict, the relative strengths of participants and the role of compensation. He describes how innovative uses of compensation often facilitate negotiated compromises. Stressing the importance of dynamic bargaining in addressing social and political...