LONDON -- In Britain we have not yet quite lost the battle to preserve the countryside, but it is far from won. In Japan, however, it looks to many outsiders as if preservation is a lost cause.
In Britain, the Campaign for the Preservation of Rural England (CPRE) has branches throughout the country and does all it can to oppose developments considered likely to damage the environment and scenery.
Unfortunately, the Labour Party, the present governing party, consists almost entirely of representatives of urban constituencies. While it pays lip service to important planning principles such as preserving green belts around urban areas and supporting the right to roam in the countryside, it attaches more importance to meeting the housing needs of the growing population of southeastern England than to maintaining the rural environment. It has shown itself ready to override local objections.