The Environment Ministry has decided to set a target for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus emissions into Tokyo Bay, Ise Bay and the Seto Inland Sea to avoid fouling the waters with too many nutrients, ministry officials said.
During a Cabinet meeting this morning, the Water Pollution Control Law and a law on preservation of the Seto Inland Sea are expected to be amended to add nitrogen and phosphorus to the article on total emissions reduction, the officials said Monday.
The ministry will set specific reduction targets, aiming for implementation in fiscal 2004, next month, they said. Affected prefectural governments will follow by drafting detailed reduction plans around April, they said.
A total reduction target for oxygen demand has already been set for the three seas. Oxygen demand indicates the amount of organic matter in water.
But target figures for nitrogen and phosphorus are sought to curb the problem of eutrophication and to prevent the occurrence of red tide, the officials said.
Eutrophication is the process by which a body of water becomes enriched in nutrients, including phosphates, and leads to the depletion of dissolved oxygen.