If there is one country that has done quite well for itself in managing the natural environment throughout its history, it is Japan. But the run up to modernisation has changed things. Success has its cost too much of it can be too costly. A

A good society knows how to clean its rubbish. But instead of setting an example for the world through its traditional handling of human excreta, Japan is following unsustainable Western models of sewage treatment

Industrialisation has brought prosperity. And increasing amount of wastes, especially plastics. The answer: burn it. But there is a problem: dioxin, one of the most carcinogenic chemicals known to humankind. Japan reels under it

The new challenges before Japan require leadership from not just the government and the corporate sector but also the civil society