Reevaluating the “Participation” and Policy Outcome: An Analysis of the Formation and Implementation of the Energy Policy

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  • TAKUBO Yuko
    College of Environment and Disaster Research, Fuji Tokoha University

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  • エネルギー政策の転換と市民参加――実質的政策転換の再評価の試み――
  • エネルギー セイサク ノ テンカン ト シミン サンカ ジッシツテキ セイサク テンカン ノ サイヒョウカ ノ ココロミ

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Abstract

<p>This paper examines the political process of the energy policy, which recently has changed drastically in a number of European countries such as Germany, to a more sustainable one with a strong emphasis on renewable energy. Japan’s energy policy, however, is still unchanged with a priority given to nuclear energy.</p><p>It has been said that the increase of citizen participation in the policy formation process, or “environmental democracy”, is the key to bringing about a change in policy.</p><p>In this paper, by focusing on the “outcome” or the substantial change in policy, I argue, based on the analysis of the political process leading to the “nuclear phase out” agreement in Germany and the “citizen power plants” movement in Japan in the implementation stage, that we need to consider the policy formation stage and the implementation stage separately when evaluating the relationship between participation and the policy outcome.</p><p>In the policy formation stage, participation may not always be the necessary factor for bringing about a drastic change as we see in the German case. On the contrary, a closed political process may prove to bear a more fruitful result, when we focus attention on what is gained. In the implementation stage, participation or substantial actions taken by the actors other than the state, namely citizens and the local communities, become the key to realizing the renewable-oriented policy.</p>

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