Overview of Kitakyushu

1-1 History of Environmental Pollution Control
Kitakyushu City is located on the
northern tip of Kyushu, one of four
main islands in Japan, and on
midwaybetween Tokyo and Shanghai.
The population of the City is about
one million and twenty thousand and
the city has been one of the four
majorindustrial zones that advanced
Japan's. economic development
	Location of the City of Kitakyushu

Kitakyushu started its industrial development with the iron and steel industry

with rich coal deposits in the surrounding areas and being the hub of sea and

land transportation. In 1901, the government-run Yawata Steel Works was

established and the area soon became one of Japan's four major industrial zones.

Kitakyushu has supported Japan's modernization as a leading industrial zone

specializingin iron and steel, chemical, ceramic, and electrical industries since

the early 20thcentury. Economic growth, industrial progress and population

increase also resulted in pollution problems, and Kitakyushu was no exception.

Dokai Bay, located in northern
Kitakyushu and surrounded by
factories, was polluted with untreated
domestic and industrial wastewater
that contained harmful substances.
Fish and shellfish completely
disappeared by 1960 and the bay became
known as the "Sea of Death". In 1966
the dissolved oxygen in Dokai Bay was
recorded at 0 mg/l, and COD, Chemical
Oxygen Demand was 36 mg/l.
	Polluted Dokai Bay (1960's)
However, owing to continued efforts by citizens, local businesses,
universities,and governmental organizations, the environment was improved
significantly.

Dokai Bay, the "Sea of Death",
experienced an impressive
improvement in water quality as a
result of restrictions on
industrial wastewater,development
of sewerage systems, and sludge
dredging jointly carried out by
businesses and government. More
than 100 species of marinelife
have been confirmed to return
to Dokai Bay.
	Recovered Dokai Bay (Present)
Also, Murasaki River, Communed by citizens as a symbol of Kitakyushu City, used
to be very polluted. Nowadays, ayu(sweetfish) and white gobies go up the river,
and fireflies fly in an upriver
district.
A significant reason for this is
that wastewater thatonce directly
discharged into Murasaki River has
now been purified by constructed
andwell-managed sewerage systems.
Thus, the sewerage systems have
played significant role of keeping
river and sea water clean and
preserving natural environment.
	Water Quality in murasaki River and the Percentage of Sewered population
Based on these experiences about overcoming pollution, Kitakyushu city has been
conducting international environmental cooperation with accumulated experience and
technology.

1-2 International Cooperation on Pollution Control

In order to share the industrial and environmental technology of Kitakyushu with

foreign countries, KITA, Kitakyushu International Techno-cooperative Association,

was established in 1980 with funds from　the Kitakyushu City government and local

businesses. Since then KITA has been engaged in technical cooperation activities

including a major focus on environmental problems for developing countries.

KITA, a legitimate operating institution for training, designs, curriculums

publishes textbooks, and coordinates training courses based on requests from

JICA and the City of Kitakyushu.

KITA manages following 5 JICA training courses on the environment.

Industrial Pollution Control Engineering Course	from 1986
Industrial Wastewater Treatment Technique Course	from 1988
Domestic Wastewater Treatment Technique Course	from 1990
Air Pollution Source Monitoring Practice Course	from 1990
Waste Management Practice Course	from 1990

As for Domestic Wastewater Treatment Technique Course started from 1990, the

totalnumber of participants is 121 from 40 countries.

Kitakyushu, as one of Japan's four major industrial zones, contributed to the

nation's industrial development and once suffered from serious environmental

pollution problems. However, the citizens, corporations,research institutions,

and the local government worked together to solve the problem.

As a result, blue skies and beautiful water environment was recovered.

In overcoming environmental pollution, we have accumulated numerous

experiences and technology. The experience of Kitakyushu is the experience of

Japan though the severity of pollution and its situation is different in each

municipality, and we have a responsibility to sharethis experience with the

international society. We would like to play an important role in international

environmental cooperation and build partnerships between us, protecting our

beautiful environment for people,the earth, and the next generation.