moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986. This whaling program has been criticized by environmental protection groups and anti-whaling countries, who say that the program is not for scientific research. Urban planning The massive nationwide rebuilding efforts in the aftermath of World War II, and the development of the following decades, led to even further urbanization and construction. The construction industry in Japan is one of its largest, and while Japan maintains a great many parks and other natural spaces, even in the hearts of its cities, there are few major restrictions on where and how construction can be undertaken. Alex Kerr, in his books "Lost Japan" and "Dogs & Demons", is one of a number of authors who focuses heavily on the environmental problems related to Japan's construction industry, and the industry's lobbying power preventing the introduction of stricter zoning laws and other environmental issues. Electronic waste management Forests Japan had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.8/10, ranking it 95th globally out of 172 countries. Past issues Pollution from the Ashio Copper Mine in the 1880s. See also List of environmental issues Environmental movement Winter storms of 2009–10 in East Asia References This article includes text from the public domain Library of Congress "Country Studies" at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/. Further reading Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Penguin Books, 2005 and 2011 (). See chapter 9 entitled "Opposite Paths to Success". External links Energy Consergvation Center, Japan Environment of Japan