In a rare move, a group of Japanese citizens concerned about the impact of climate change filed a petition for human rights relief with the Japan Federation of Bar Associations on Wednesday to address the issue through legal means.
Climate Case Japan, a group formed in 2021 that argues climate change is a human rights issue, submitted a petition signed by 365 individuals, asking the bar association to make formal requests to relevant ministries and courts to take stronger climate action on their behalf.
It will likely take more than a year for the bar association to scrutinize the petition before deciding whether to issue a warning to — or request specific measures from — the government.
The citizens’ group said it decided to file a petition and not a lawsuit because hurdles remain high for individuals to take climate issues to court.
While more than 2,100 climate lawsuits have been filed worldwide and some plaintiffs have recently clinched legal victories, Japan has seen only four civil and administrative cases filed by residents in areas where coal-fired power plants are located or have been expanded. Court rulings so far have been dismissive, saying the plaintiffs lack the right to file a lawsuit on climate matters.
In past court rulings, Japanese judges have said the right to not be harmed by carbon emissions “should be pursued as part of overall government policy.” But the court also said its judgment is “based on the current social situation” and hinted at the possibility that such a right will be recognized in the future if, for example, the issue gains more widespread recognition in Japan or overseas.
Climate Case Japan member Soyo Hinata said the group wants to raise awareness of how climate change is a pressing issue that hurts everyone and needs to be dealt with now, and not sometime in the future.
“The rising temperatures in recent years, the growing instability in seasons and disasters made more frequent by heavy rain, as well as heat-related illnesses, poor harvest of crops, surging prices of goods and electricity ... these are all results of human activities and can be stopped through appropriate measures,” the group said in a statement. “If we lose our family or livelihood, and if we cannot live or raise children with a sense of security, isn’t it a form of human rights abuse?”
While the 46,000-member bar group's moves have no legal power, they have sometimes helped sway policy. For example, in 2020, a Nagoya Prison inmate with mental disabilities filed a petition for human rights relief with the federation, claiming that the prison officials had failed to give "reasonable accommodation" to the needs of people with disabilities, as stipulated in law, when assigning tasks to the inmate.
The bar association, after investigating the situation, sent a letter to then-Justice Minister Ken Saito in 2023, requesting the necessary accommodation be made. This led to a reply from the prison director and the Justice Ministry saying they have instituted policies to make the necessary adjustments for such inmates.
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