Research Guides: Okinawa Studies Research Guide: Government Resources

Governmental Resources in Okinawa

Okinawa Prefectural Government
- Downloadable brochures: Outline of Okinawa Prefecture & Aiming to Become a Natural World Heritage: A Global Natural Treasure: The Ryukyu Islands
Henoko Base Construction Countermeasures Division Executive Office / 辺野古新基地建設問題対策課
Series of letters in English uploaded, including but not limited to:
- Regarding the request to retract the relocation plan to Henoko to protect the dugongs in Okinawa
- Concerns for Environmental Impacts of Seabed Improvement Work in Land Reclamation in Henoko
- Request for Stakeholder Consultation over the lawsuit on Okinawa Dugongs
- Letter to environmental protection organizations
Ministry of Environment Okinawa Amami Natural Conservation Office / 環境省沖縄奄美自然環境事務所
- Conservation and maintenance of the natural environment (national parks, world natural heritage, nature restoration, eco-tourism)
- Protection and management of wildlife (wildlife, alien creatures)
Naha City Global Warming Measures Meeting | 那覇市地球温暖化対策協議会
- Focused on global warming in Naha City
Okinawa Prefectural Enterprise Bureau / 沖縄県企業局
- Searchable for information on PFOS, PFOA, and PCB for the chemical contamination in water sources in Okinawa
Okinawa Prefecture Environmental Preservation Division / 沖縄県環境部環境保全課
- In charge of the water quality survey
Okinawa Prefecture Environment Department Environmental Policy Division / 沖縄県環境部環境政策課
- In charge of the prefectural environmental policies, environmental assessment, special mearues related to US military bases
- The Base Environment Special Measure Office / 基地環境特別対策室 is located in the Environmental Policy Division
Okinawa Prefecture Nature Conservation Division / 沖縄県環境部自然保護課
- In charge of nature conservation and wildlife in the prefecture
- Information on dugong protection measures
沖縄県地域環境センター
- List of NPO organizations working on various environmental issues in Okinawa, teaching materials, volunteer organizations, and more

Governmental Resources Outside Okinawa

Ministry of Environment / 環境省
- Responsible for global environmental conservation, pollution control, and nature conservation.
- Site in Japanese
- Go to "Category" on the main English page: For coral reef and marine animals, go to Nature & Parks
- 環境白書 / White Papers
National Institute for Environmental Studies / 国立研究開発法人国立環境研究所
- Site in Japanese
- Cover wide range research fields, e.g. global warming, air/other types of pollution, conservation of biodiversity
Environmental Restoration and Conservation Agency of Japan / 独立行政法人環境再生保全機構
- Site mostly in Japanese
- Research focus on public pollution
- Fund various environment-related activities
- Pamphlet in English
Biodiversity Center of Japan / 生物多様性センター
- Site in Japanese
JapanGov The Government of Japan
- Useful for Government Directory, general information on Japan, Japanese ministories/agencies latest news (color-coded), publications
- Check 'Environment' under 'Sustainable Future'

Governmental Resources in the U.S.

Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry、U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Toxic Substances Portal, Press Release, Publications, Most viewed toxic substances:
Interstate Technology & Regulatory Council
- State-led coalition aiming to reduce barriers to the use of innovative air, water, waste, and remediation environmental technologies and processes
Marine Mammal Commission (Independent agency of the US government)
Office for Coastal Management
- Check NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
- Four national programs: Federal Consistency, Coastal Zone Enhancement, Nonpoint Pollution Control, & Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation
- Access to each state's program
- Want to know about "Dugong vs. Rumsfeld"?
Check "Ocean Law Search" and type dugong.
- Visit National Park Service's page "National Historic Preservation Act of 1966"
- Refer to explanation of 'Cultural Properties' on Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs (文化庁) page.
- Summary in Japanese for "ジュゴン訴訟報告" on News for the People in Japan (NPJ) website
US Environmental Programme
- Search for coral, dugong, military, etc. in the keyword search box
US Environmental Protection Agency
- To search for Okinawa-related topics, go to 'Environmental Topics' or type keywords in the search box on the main page.
U.S. Department of Defense Environment Safety and Occupational Health Network and Information Exchange
- "Addressing Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) and Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) "
U.S. Government Accountability Office
- "DRINKING WATER - Status of DOD Efforts to Address Drinking Water Contaminants Used in
Firefighting Foam"

U.S. Military Bases in Okinawa: United States Government Documents (released through FOIA requests)

GW ScholarSpace link

The Collection is categorized into three topics:

The impact of U.S. military operations on Okinawa’s environment
Natural, archeological and cultural surveys of U.S. military facilities on Okinawa
US Marine Corps orientation lectures and CIA intelligence reports for Okinawa

This collection of U.S. government documents was released through a series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests pursued by Jon Mitchell, British journalist and author, who has done extensive work exposing human rights issues on Okinawa. The documents originated in the US Department of Defense (Marine Corps, Army and Air Force) and CIA, and reveal the social, cultural and environmental impacts of the US military operations on Okinawa and Okinawans.To learn more about Jon Mitchell and his work, please visit his website.