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new environmental issues in the policy agenda.
Next argument deals with the tempo of both environmental policy development and
economic growth. From both Figure 3 and Figure 4, the level of economic growth in China in
1992 is equal to that in Japan in the early 1950s, and that in Korea in 1992 is equal to that in
Japan in 1971. That is to say, the time-lag for economic growth between Japan and China is
more than 35 years, and between Japan and Korea is 21 years. On the other hand, as the above
mentioned, the time-lag for environmental policy development between Japan and China is 21-
24 years, and between Japan and Korea is 12-14 years (see Table 3). It is, through comparison
of both time-lags, found that the tempo of environmental policy development in China and
Korea has been faster than that of Japan, when compared to each country’s level of economic
growth. In other words, the gap between economic growth and environmental policy
development can be found in Korea and China.
Moreover, Table 4 shows both GDP per capita and energy consumption per capita in the
starting year of each policy development stage on each country. Compared to Japan, income
level in both Korea and China are lower, despite at the same period of environmental policy
development. Concretely, the income level of Korea is nearly 70-80% of Japan, and that of
China is less than half of Japan. These disparities in income level also endorse the above gap
between economic growth and environmental policy development.
6. Conclusion and Prospects
6-1 Similarities and Di fferences
In concluding, the similarities and differences in environmental policy development in the
three countries of Japan, Korea, and China, are summarized as follows.
First, the environmental policy development processes in China and Korea were quite similar
to that of Japan, except for a certain time-lag. This time-lag between Japan and China is 21-24
years, and between Japan and Korea is 12-14 years. Environmental policies in these three
countries, in long run, have been converging.
Second, the environmental policy development processes in these three countries were
closely related to each country’s economic growth. However, when compared to Japan, the
tempo of environmental policy development in China and Korea has been faster than that of
their economic growth.
Third, the major differences identified in these processes were caused by several factors. In
both Korea and China, local governments in particular have played only a small role in the field
of environmental policy, and the level of environmental information disclosure was more limited
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