MANAGING TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL RISKS IN JAPAN

This paper is primarily concerned with environmental risks arising from utilizing modern technology. Our attention focuses on the interface between policy decisions and regulatory measures. The interface involves not only science and technology but also politics and social values, and preceptions which are deeply rooted in the industrial countries. A case of setting air quality standards and regulatory practices in Japan is studied on the basis of scientific and technological knowledge, economic cost, and subjective judgment of what constitutes an acceptable level of risk or health hazard.