Professor Yamaguchi's Seminar at Keio University, Japan

Having entered the 21st century, the international community faces a handful of pressing environmental issues. From the local level of environmental degradation, like water and air pollution, to global matters such as global warming and the loss of biodiversity, all are due most in part to manfs great race for development. As the outlook on the state of the environment seems to be unpromising, the need for international cooperation has become essential. Such cooperation can be seen, as in September of this year, over 100 heads of government convened in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in order to reassess the planetfs condition and to talk of possible future action. This was a follow-up of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, held a decade ago, which marked the start for international cooperation and the commitment to sustainable development. The environment is at a state where it cannot be left to bec


The Seminar

Although there are many possible topics of research concerning the environment, the Yamaguchi seminar focuses on the much-trumpeted global warming and waste problems. We examine government papers on environmental policies and thoroughly read treaties (i.e. the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Extended Producer Responsibility Government Guidance Manual) in order to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the issues. We also take into account the roles of corporations and consumers and their potential in harmonizing their actions with the environment. Currently in this seminar, there are 14 fourth year students and 20 third year students. Within each grade, there are 4 small groups in which we have different topics that we concentrate on. The topics include for example: the Clean Development Mechanism and renewable energy, related around the main theme of global warming and the Container and Packaging Recycling Law (CPRL) and Electric Household Appliance Recycling Law (EHARL), which help when analyzing waste problems in-depth.


Professor Mitsutsune Yamaguchi

Professor Yamaguchi was born in 1939 in Kanagawa. He graduated from Keio University in 1962 and joined Tokio Marine and Fire Insurance Company in the same year. After having been on the board of directors, in 1996 he started to work at Keio University. Professor Yamaguchifs area of study concentrates around environmental topics, specializing in global warming, environmental protection and free trade. Currently, he has a class in the graduate school of Keio concerning environmental policies and also teaches two courses handling global environmental issues. Besides these courses, Professor Yamaguchi holds this seminar which has been introduced above. Apart from being a professor, he also has held among others, the following positions: lead author of the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Third Assessment Report, chief delegate of the Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment (OECD) , and several government committees on climate change and waste related issues.


For English papers written by Professor Yamaguchi click here.

For English papers written by the students of this seminar click here. Please select the papers with English titles.