In looking at the island nation of Japan, global climate change and a warming of the planet holds the possibility of catastrophic effect. According to the APEC Center for Environmental Technology based in Osaka City, a sea level rise of 50cm would result in the disappearance of 70% of the sandy beaches in Japan. A rise of 1 meter would result in a loss of 90% of sandy beaches in Japan and 100% of the beaches in Osaka. People living in the lowlands of Japan would likely lose their homes and be forced to relocate to higher ground.[i]
In addition, shifts in the climate will likely affect the agricultural output of certain zones. In Japan climate change could impact rice production by as much as 40% according to the 2007 IPPC report as reported by the Japan Times.[ii] This is likely due to the decline in potentially good agricultural land. Japan also relies heavily on food imports to sustain its population’s needs and similar declines in food yield in China and Australia will likely affect its ability to sustain. The recent droughts occurring in Australia for example created an increase in imported food costs for Japan.
For these reasons and for others which have not yet been discussed it can be assumed that the Japanese culture would look highly upon the notion of sustainable living. The Japanese would have much to lose if sea levels began to rise. And certainly even more to lose if the rise begins earlier than anticipated as recently reported by the journal Science. They reported that there is a possibility of a sea level rise of 21 feet in certain parts of the world.[iii]
[i] APEC Virtual Center for Environmental Technology Exchange. “What Results from Global Warming?” <http://www.epcc.pref.osaka.jp/apec/eng/earth/global_warming/dounaru.html>
[ii] Japan Times. “Climate Change Could Decrease Rice Yields by as much as 40%.” <http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070920a9.html>
[iii] Oregon State University. “Sea Level Rise Could be Worse than Anticipated” <http://oregonstate.edu/dept/ncs/newsarch/2009/Feb09/icesheet.html>

