Introduction
The growth and development of nations are important as they increase citizens’ quality of life in a particular country. Nevertheless, there is a significant amount of damage that people have imparted to the ecosystem while trying to promote economic growth and development. As a result, it is salient to ensure that seeking economic success does not improve things in the present but ends up destroying the ecosystem and its ability to serve future generations. For instance, the invention of vehicles, trains, and airplanes has made it considerably easier to transit from one location to another.
Discussion
However, these scientific inventions emit harmful bi-products into the environment, contributing to current global warming cases. Therefore, countries have realized the importance of promoting sustainable growth and development. Sustainable development refers to the ability of countries to meet the needs of energy production, food, mass employment, and access to water while ensuring that the state of the environment is protected. According to Stanton’s lecture notes, numerous techniques enabled sustainable development through accountability and public participation. As a result, such methods can be emulated to promote sustainable local governance in Japan.
Accomplishing the collective sustainable development of Japan would be best achieved if infused from national to local government. Sustainable growth is a priority in Japan, so it should be well documented within its environmental legislation and policies. It particularly focuses on implementing sustainable leadership in local governments because they interact with businesses and corporations at the lowest level. Stanton postulates that local governments have the highest capability to promote sustainable growth and development because they deal with things happening on the ground.
Sustainable local government becomes effective when guided by citizen participation and accountability principles. Citizen participation is a salient consideration because it allows citizens to make decisions about their economic and social development to make sure that they protect future generations from any form of environmental havoc. It will help Japan’s government make decisions for people affected by a particular industry the most because of geographical proximity. The principle of accountability guarantees that every decision concerning community progression adheres to all the requisite control standards. From the government’s perspective, local authorities should be ready to take the blame if they fail to implement policies appropriately. On the other hand, public members must ensure that their pursuit of economic development does not go against environmental law and related policies.
Therefore, the function of Japan’s national government is generic as it deals with issues at the top management, such as the deployment of funds, categorizing economic activities according to their environmental impact, and ensuring that as many people as possible get this information. Local governments democratize the implementation process by engaging with members of the public to ensure that policies put in place adhere to the principles of accountability and public participation. Promoting local sustainability in Japan is the most effective because people are in the best position to make decisions directly about issues that affect them; locals understand their situation best.
Conclusion
According to the text by Stanton, the national government found it necessary to promote local regeneration by empowering people directly affected by various industries, companies, and economic activities within their locality, hence leading to the creation of the New Deal for Communities program. Similarly, Japan can emulate community regeneration techniques to empower citizens to take part in instituting policies deemed necessary to achieve sustainable growth and development.