Minamata wins Japan Eco City Contest 2006


Minamata City in Kumamoto Prefecture and Shinshiro City in Aichi Prefecture were awarded Top Eco-Cities in Japan's 5th Eco-City Contest this year. Japan for Sustainability notes that no municipality was awarded the grand title of "Environmental Capital of Japan".

Read more about Citizens Environment Forum, one of the NGOs behind the contest.

In the contest, the participating municipalities are evaluated based on interviews and their responses to 90 questions in 15 categories, including:

(1) establishment and utilization of an environmental management system
(2) citizen empowerment
(3) energy policy
(4) promotion of environment-friendly industries


The average score of the top 10 eco-cities rose to 505 points from 459 points in fiscal 2004. The network says the contest has contributed to improving local governments' environmental policies and realizing eco-cities.

More details and results here (in Japanese). A great idea that could be introduced in other countries as well!

Minamata, of course, is the Japanese town that became famous for a mercury poisoning scandal in the 1950s and 1960s, an event that remains very vivid here, with thousands of victims and huge damage on the regional ecosystem. The city has a Minamata Disease Museum that opened in 1993 to make more people aware of the issues surrounding Minamata disease.

Minamata previous

(Image from this Minamoto City pamphlet about its rivers and environmental protection efforts.)

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