The Declaration Of Establishment For Japan Endocrine-disruptor Preventive Action

All the species, including the mankind, are now in the crisis due to the contamination caused by chemicals such as dioxins and endocrine disruptors. The chemical pollutants could cause the cancers and injure reproductive health of human beings and animals by disrupting the endocrine systems. Moreover, the chemical pollutants in the maternal body could be transferred to the fetus through the placenta and to the infants through breast milk, threatening our lives and reproductive capability. The contamination is spreading all over the world, and it will be handed down from generation to generation.

The chemical contamination has been brought by the life-style of industrial societies in which the system of mass production, mass consumption and mass disposal is established, and insatiate pursuit of convenience and excessive dependency on chemical substances are still remained uncontrolled. We, human beings, are producing more than a hundred thousand chemicals and releasing them on the earth without paying enough attention to its safety. In the result, it has put us into jeopardy.

It is our responsibility to solve the problem and preserve our precious planet, reviewing the current life-style radically. Immediately we have to implement effective countermeasures. The solution of dioxins and endocrine disruptors’ problems should be the social and political obstacle to be cleared with the top priority. Nevertheless, the legislative and administration in Japan are notably slow in taking action. It is now that we, as sovereigns, stand up and move the government by ourselves, not just criticizing them. We need to propose the policies on countermeasures as well as lead the government with appropriate information. Since the crisis is complex, it should be tackled from many directions. The proposals for policies are hardly established by only limited number of specialists. We need to combine disinterested efforts of various people such as specialists of different fields, citizens, NGOs, political parties, labor unions and industrial world to share our knowledge, overcoming the respective differences.

Japan Endocrine-disruptor Preventive Action has been established to respond to the demand described above. We aim to fundamentally solve the dioxins and endocrine disruptors’ problems by proposing policies. Our proposals will cover a wide range of issues, such as the completion of investigation and research system, the urgent implementation of countermeasures against dioxins generation considering breast milk contamination issue, the drastic review on chemical substance regulation, and the maintenance of waste legislation. We, hereby, declare that we will work sincerely for the solution of the problems with our best effort.

September 19, 1998