Environmental Victims’ Movements in East Asia: Their Philosophies, Practices, and Environmental Justice

“Finally, a book has been published that presents an environmental sociology distinct from the dominant approaches in North America and Europe. It demonstrates how specific experiences of environmental disasters and the evolution of victim movements have profoundly shaped both entire societies and the character of environmental sociology in East Asia. This is a must-read for anyone seeking a broader and richer understanding of environmental sociology today.” (Rolf Lidskog, Professor of Sociology, Örebro University, Sweden)

“I highly recommend this important book which enriches environmental sociology by bringing perspectives and examples from East Asia to the rest of the globe. The chapters in this collection are distinctive in bearing witness to environmental destruction in East Asia and the social movements that have emerged in response. The contributions draw on diverse theoretical foundations and push forward agendas of reparation, democratisation, social justice and decolonisation alongside new ideas for western audiences such as kōgai and Life Philosophy.” (Jo Lindsay, Professor of Sociology, Monash University, Australia; President, Research Committee on Environment and Society, International Sociological Association)

“This essential volume puts a well-deserved spotlight on East Asia as a third pole in global Environmental Sociology. It provides a rich look into a rigorous body of work characterized by a dual focus on documenting and understanding the lived realities of victims of environmental harms, as well challenging the culpability of governments and corporations in perpetuating pollution and unsustainability. In doing so, it highlights the misalignments that result from over-generalizing North American or European intellectual frameworks. This volume is a must-read for scholars interested in issues of environmental harms, movements, and sustainability in East Asia. It is equally crucial reading for those interested in a sincere global dialogue about the future of Environmental Sociology.” (Mark C.J. Stoddart, Professor of Sociology, Memorial University, Canada)

“The thriving sub-discipline of environmental sociology in East Asia offers distinctive perspectives and insights that depart from the fields of environmental sociology that have emerged in Europe and North America, reflecting in part its immersion in the unique historical, political and cultural context that is East Asia. As the authors note, neither the assumptions, nor even the terms and concepts that have emerged in environmental sociology in the West apply unproblematically in the East Asian context. This volume showcases the contributions through a set of chapters from leading East Asian scholars, offering exactly the kind of reflexive sociology needed to meet our current moment.” (Debra J. Davidson, Professor of Environmental Sociology, University of Alberta, Canada)

“This volume offers an invaluable guide to the range of “environmental movements” in the East Asian nations of Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China, particularly how they differ in important ways from those in Western nations. In the process it reveals important distinctions between the “three poles” of environmental sociology anchored in North America, Europe and East Asia–highlighting the unique contributions of the latter. Overall, it is an important addition to environmental sociology as well as the more specific issue of environmentalism.” (Riley E. Dunlap, Past-President, Research Committee on Environment and Society, International Sociological Association)

This book explores environmental victims’ movements and how they have shaped the history of East Asia. The book focuses on the impact of these movements and whether the ideas of environmental justice in this region align with Western concepts or whether they take a different approach. Bringing together leading researchers in the field and using in-depth case studies from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China, the chapters trace the evolution of victims’ movements, uncover their distinctive characteristics, and reveal the forms of environmental sociology they have inspired. Offering fresh insights into the intersection of social activism and environmental change, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in environmental justice, social movements, and the dynamics of East Asian societies.

Saburo Horikawa is Professor of Sociology at Hosei University in Tokyo, Japan. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Keio University in Tokyo. Why Place Matters, his magnum opus, was published by Springer in 2021. He served as President of the Japanese Association for Environmental Sociology in 2023-2025.

Yoichi Yuasa is Professor of Sociology at Kanto Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Hosei University in Tokyo. He was a visiting scholar at St. Antony’s College, Oxford University (2013-2014). He has served as the Secretary General, the Japanese Association for Environmental Sociology.

Atsushi Hamamoto is Professor in the Faculty of Social Sciences at Waseda University, Tokyo. He received his M.A. in Sociology of Development from the University of Essex and his Ph.D. in Sociology from Tokyo Metropolitan University. He has conducted research on approximately 50 dam projects, primarily in Japan and China.

Masatoshi Sasaoka (1971-2025) was Professor at the Department of Human Sciences, Hokkaido University in Japan. Before joining Hokkaido University, he was working at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR). He had rich experiences in intensive fieldwork in Kalimantan, Maluku and Sumatra, Indonesia. Deceased in April 2025.