title: New direction for environmental water management.
abstract: Japan experienced severe environmental problems including water pollution and damages to aquatic organisms and fishery industry through and after the high economic growth period in the 1960s. One of the countermeasures to address these problems was the Total Pollutant Load Control System (TPLCS), which has been implemented with the aim of reducing the total amount of pollutant loads, specifically targeting Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), total nitrogen and total phosphorus. The TPLCS has significantly improved the quality of the coastal sea water. However, while the accumulated pollutant loads from the past industrialization have still remained, new environmental concerns have arisen. Our new environmental policies are thus to deal with conservation of biological diversity and other related marine environmental issues. Japan has entered a new phase of environmental management, setting the new direction and framework toward a beautiful, bio-diverse, bustling-with-people and bountiful sea.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Electronic address: AKIO_TOMITA@env.go.jp.
authors.forename: Akio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tomita
authors.affiliation: Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Electronic address: YOSHIO_NAKURA@env.go.jp.
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakura
authors.affiliation: Ministry of the Environment, Japan. Electronic address: TAKUYA_ISHIKAWA@env.go.jp.
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
mesh_terms: D057919:Biological Oxygen Demand Analysis; D007564:Japan; D009584:Nitrogen / Q000032:analysis; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D010758:Phosphorus / Q000032:analysis; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D010758:Phosphorus; D009584:Nitrogen
keywords: Beautiful; Bio-diverse; Bustling-with-people and bountiful sea; Enclosed coastal seas; Sato-umi; Seto Inland Sea; Total Pollutant Load Control System (TPLCS); Water quality control