Preface Acknowledgments List of Figures and Tables Abbreviations Introduction1 Research Background and Existing Scholarship 1.1 Research Background 1.2 Literature Review 1.3 Research Objectives and Methods2 Overview of the Japanese Legal System Relevant to Climate Change Litigation 2.1 Overview 2.2 Japanese Judiciary 2.3 Public Access to Justice in Environmental Litigation 2.4 Laws Mobilized in Japanese CCL 2.

5 Summary: Key Legal Constraints to CCL in Japan3 From Environmental to Climate Change Litigation 3.1 Overview 3.2 Historical Background 3.3 Structural Causes of Japanese Environmental Damage 3.4 CCL as an Extension of Environmental Litigation 3.5 Summary4 Five Climate Change Cases in Japan 4.1 Overview 4.2 Details of the Cases 4.

3 Comparison of the Cases 4.4 Comparison of CCL and Earlier Antipollution/ Environmental Cases 4.5 Uniqueness of CCL in Japan 4.6 Summary5 Institutional Obstacles 5.1 Overview 5.2 Access to the Courts 5.3 Existing Law 5.4 Judicial Receptiveness 5.

5 Discussion 5.6 Summary6 Cognitive Obstacles 6.1 Overview 6.2 Previous Studies 6.3 Methodology 6.4 First-Stage Surveys and Interviews 6.5 Second-Stage Questionnaire Survey 6.6 Discussion 6.

7 Summary7 Countermeasures: Possible Improvements and Future Prospects 7.1 Overview 7.2 Obstacles to Climate Litigation 7.3 Prospects for the Future: through Comparison with US Tobacco Litigation 7.4 Summary Conclusion 1 Findings and Implications 2 Contributions 3 Limitations and Future Research Glossary Appendix 1: First-Stage Survey Questionnaire Appendix 2: Second-Stage Survey Questions Bibliography Index.