All prefectures and major cities have drafted plans to improve the environment and promote sustainable development, but only 184 of the thousands of smaller municipalities have made similar preparations, according to an Environment Ministry survey released Wednesday.
The study targeted prefectures, the 12 specially designated major cities and the nation's more than 3,000 smaller cities, towns and villages to see which had drafted plans to promote sustainable development as agreed upon at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
Officials said they were not sure if they would report the results at the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held in Johannesburg in late August.
The government is going to present the findings at a two-day symposium on sustainable development and local government to begin April 27 in Yokohama.
The survey shows that the number of prepared local governments had improved slightly from two years ago, when 45 prefectures, all the major cities and 113 municipalities had environmental plans.