Yoshinobu Kitamura

Faculty of Economics, Yokohama National University, Associate Professor of Law
(79-3, Tokiwadai, Hodogaya, Yokohama 240-8501 Japan)

Abstract

Openness of industrial solid waste administration is an important way to achieve the purpose of the 1997 Amendment to the Solid Waste Treatment Law: dissolving distrust against waste management. The Amendment has introduced new measures to enhance communication among administration, licensed agents, and the citizens, such as living environment assessment, and public access to management records of treatment facilities. Thesemeasures,however,arenotnecessarilypanacea.Additionalpracticesaretobeconsidered; providing reasons for licensing treatment facilities to the public, and making available information concerning license agents, advisory board experts, and regulatory enforcement activities.

Key words: the 1997 Amendment to the Solid Waste Treatment Law, assessment of living environment, freedom of information, regulatory enforcement, distrust