Nomura, K. and Abe, O. (2009). The education for sustainable development movement in Japan: a political perspective

Nomura, K. and Abe, O. (2009).  The education for sustainable development movement in Japan: a political perspective.  Environmental Education Research, 15(4), pp. 483 - 496.  Retrieved September 18, 2010 from http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13504620903056355


Introduction
This article is sourced from the Japanese governments strategy to open up political opportunities for non-governmental bodies and individuals to contribute to a policy on ESD prepared for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg 2002.  These political platforms were the beginning of the Japanese ESD movement, and alignment with UNESCO Decade of ESD (2005 - 2014).


Nomura and Abe recognise global trends driven by national governments to promote ESD, EfSF, EfS and DESD (origins in Japanese initiative) across education goals and subsequent methodology.  Economic growth and sustainable development are an integrated aspect of national government and industry.  The study is based on interviews conducted by the authors on key players in the ESD movement who reveal the sequence of events designed to build the Japanese DESD proposal.


Social movements, political opportunities and a corporatist approach
The pragmatic approach to implementing ESD in Japan was to overlay the breadth and depth of sustainable development with government policies.  Access to political inclusion is structured by membership to commerce, and government support culture and heritage by introducing formats that are in keeping with naturally occurring behaviour.  Nomura and Abe agree that Japan can be said to incorporate ecological modernisation through corporate systems.  National peak associations assume responsibilities for processing policies.  It represents a monopoly in respective categories.  Interest groups sustain activity and continuing effective implementation.  Subsequently, expert practitioners are free to exercise their knowledge and influence under government directives.  It is these nationwide networks that represent the majority of the ESD movement.


Nomura and Abe construct their argument using Political Opportunities Theory to understand how social movements develop.  Fundamentals of the system lie in:

1. the relative openness or closure of the institutionalised political system;
2. the presence or absence of elite allies;
3. the stability or instability of the broad set of elite alignments that typically undergird a policy; and
4. the state's capacity and propensity for repression.

The authors propose:

1. the formal institutional arrangements, or an increase in meaningful access points to decision-making; and
2. the changes in the informal structure of power relations, such as the appearance of influential government allies for collective action, in relation to the ESD movement in Japan.

1. Between the first and the second Prep-Coms
The establishment of the 'Japan Forum for Johannesburg' (JFJ)
Post summit, the Japanese government set up the groundwork to coordinate their NGOs.


The Ministry of Environment's Environmental Partnership Office (EPO) started opinion exchange forums (e.g. meetings) about the Summit in August 2001, facilitated by the director of EPO.  Enhancement of civic activity introduced participation at grass roots, leading to effective solutions for policy updates.


JFJ was established after three meetings, and a representative from OISCA (The Organisation for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural Advancement - International) was appointed secretary.  However, it did not achieve its full potential as difficulty in recruiting rational environmental activists capable of compromise resulted in a network of like-minded people.  Critics suggest that intervention came from the Ministry of Environments control over groups known for aggressive behaviour.  Others were suspicious of the close ties between OISCA and the government, and actively avoided the forums as was the case with bigger NGOs whose absence at the Summit was noted.


From Phnom Penh to Prep-Com 2
JFJ was registered with the UN to establish credentials.  Shortly after inception, a regional summit meeting in Phnom Penh revealed areas that required attention when the only document put forward was a recompilation of member views which was not lobbied.  It was seen as an ineffective measure of approaching high-level meetings.


Nomura and Abe draw attention to the contents of the document.  Emphasis was placed on environmental education and topics related to poverty, consumption patterns, and water, and "this document mentioned a Decade of Education for Environment and Development" (pg. 6).  The concept of the Decade was the brainchild of an established religious group that concurred with OISCA view.  Criticisms of the document were made personal to the Forum Secretary, who clearly stated that failure to include other parties was due a lack of time to prepare between inauguration and meeting.  Furthermore, OISCA had just celebrated 40 years by promoting EfSF and had nothing new to add.  Integration and cohesion between JFJ and OISCA in steering policy was still not apparent at the second Prep-Com held in New York, January 2002 as Japanese government policies only promoted environmental education.


2. The third and the fourth Prep-Coms
Towards the third prep-Com
Government involvement was more apparent during the third Prep-Com when it was proposed that JFJ would present the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.  The chair's final draft on proposed outcomes of the Summit as it correlated with Japanese policy, was open to public for one week.  It may not have been entirely coincidental that a suggestion to propose DESD was applauded at the next meeting.


However, the Forum Secretary recalled the EPO director proposing DESD came from JFJ prior to the document being released to the public.  The director, seconded to the UN from the Japanese Ministry of Environment, was often in contact with many kinds of UN decades initiated during that time recognising that efforts made would be sustained for at least ten years.  As education is of utmost significance internationally, it was deemed an appropriate topic to highlight.


The term ESD was adopted by a renowned professor who was brought in to JFJ by the EPO director.  He was known for his active participation with sub-committee members owing to the conflict that was generated by his tenacious use of the term ESD.  He was recruited for the post as his experience had been as "a high-ranking official at the UN, adept at international negotiation, and had fluent English, although he did not have nay expertise in environmental or sustainability education" (pg. 8).  His connections made him an influential and powerful man to have in steering policy.  The politics surrounding the term stemmed from the professor and the director wanting to use the same words that would be used to promote the World Summit on Sustainable Development.  They proposed that sustainable development as a title would be more attractive to developing countries, and more likely to garner support because their expectation was for Japan to increase its international aid.


The Ministry of Foreign Affairs were agreeable as it represented their position and the significance of assisting developing countries and relative to their proposals on poverty and involvement in Millennium Development Goals.  Thus marks the entry for a UN Decade for Sustainable Development in Japans proposal for the third Prep-Com.  It is suggested that the chair of the third Prep-Com may have found favour with the proposal after accepting an invitation to OISCAs 40th where the concept was discussed.


From the fourth Prep-Com to the Summit
The concept of the Decade was shared with high-ranking government officials, and spread through the network that supported the idea and received full backing from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Both Councillor and a senior official from the Ministry, the professor and the director of EPO approached the Cabinet Office where they successfully proposed the inclusion of DESD in the Prime Ministers speech for the Summit.


While it was suggested that the JFJ did not have a major role in lobbying, it can be said that the professor, who was not qualified for the post, did his best to include JFJ in policy making.  However, it was noted that the professor attended the Summit as a special advisor to the government rather than as a JFJ representative.  NGOs recognised the opportunity to gain political support for their cause irrespective of top-down or bottom-up instigations.  It was proposed that the JFJ concentrate on effecting implementation of the Decade through its education sub-committee, without initiating further policy change.


Local and national governments funded a series of meetings held prior to and post Summit, hosted by JFJ and senior public officials to promote the Decade.  The government was also responsible for funding the attendance of their NGO representatives at the fourth Prep-Com through the Japan Fund for Global Environment.  This opportunity allowed the NGOs to prepare a subsidiary event on environmental education for the Summit.  Nomura and Abe wonder if the financial dependency of the NGOs influenced policy, but continue on to say it is clear that the JFJ was not completely controlled by government as they muse over voluntary efforts and financial contributions.  The majority of the JFJ were viewed as supportive of government initiatives, and looked upon their posting as a platform to further their cause.


3. After the Johannesburg Summit: the establishment of ESD-J
The government, in collaboration with JFJ, proposed DESD at the Summit 2002 and again at the fourth Prep-Com, and was included in the Summit's implementation plan which resulted in the UN General Assembly implementing the Decade at its 57th session later that year.  The EPO held open meetings to start discourse into promoting ESD in Japan and resulted in the Japan Council on the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, otherwise known as ESD-J.  Establishing ESD-J rightfully terminated JFJ.


ESD-J and government ties remained strong through using JFJs corporate approach.  There is government involvement in how groups are organised, and in the selection of representatives to aid in policy-making.  As part of the governments' charter was to address the holistic integration of sustainable development into national policy, it was vital to establish ESD-J as its' counterpart.


That ESD-J is financially dependent on the government is obvious, Nomura and Abe state and continue on to say that while fewer than half of the applications to the Japan Fund for Global Environment are approved,  ESD-J are a consistent recipient of funds.  Recruitment for novices in ESD come from The Ministry of Environments financial support in recognition of advanced ESD domains.  Though government were seen to encourage active ESD models, conflict erupted when it appeared that labeling any model ESD would result in government funding.  Nomura and Abe reconcile this paradox by stating that although government influence sustains ESD, it is also the primary influence in developing ESD throughout Japan with a potential to regroup or restructure existing models.


Conclusion
A political opportunity perspective has offered clarity into the process and sequence of the emergence and development of ESD in Japan.  An open political system and the start up of the EPO became the platform for communication between NGOs and the government.  Elite allies were used during development, and one such key player was the director for EPO.  Under his guidance JFJ and ESD-J were founded, and DESD was proposed as a concept stemming from NGOs who received funds to attend the fourth Prep-Com and Summit.


Significantly, political opportunities were presented through corporate membership that emphasised political entry points for NGOs.  Strategic planning allowed the government to present a proposal for policy at the Summit, and to portray themselves as having collaborative relationships with NGOs.  Control was exerted when selecting representatives for policy-making, and care was taken when considering the breadth and depth of potential causes to back (e.g. to use the term ESD).  As the proposal was a joint collaboration and considered a civil society movement, government mobilisation of NGOs was the beginning of the movement for initiating the Decade in Japan.


A tight network of high-ranking officials, each with powerful network connections of their own, were able to drive the strategy to its objective.  Nomura and Abe indicate that these individuals may not have questioned the politics of the process while so heavily involved with supporting sustainable education.


After the UN took agency of the Decade, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology has initiated efforts to make sustainability in formal education mainstream.  The Ministry of Environment, instigators in proposing the Decade focus on ESD in the non-formal sector and in particular on community development.


NGOs are tasked with developing and implementing ESD activities to ratify civil society movement.  Nomura and Abe propose that they strengthen opportunity structure by increasing their elite allies which would be more to do with interaction than as a reaction to change.  What is required is an effective means of interpreting ESD in order to mobilise support, and the authors propose examining the issue through a framing perspective that places emphasis on the development of social movements.


Nomura and Abe state that substantiating civil society movement is significant to the development of ESD in Japan and the term ESD is more recently linked to discourse on the UN Decade for ESD.  The authors suggest political and historical investigation and analysis of international ESD movements as they compare with other social phenomena to explore the stability of policies and initiatives, and the capacity for constraint.