Air pollutants emitted from factories and cars caused the onset of illnesses such as chronic bronchitis and bronchial asthma among residents in Kawasaki and the surrounding areas, causing many people to suffer. People who fell victim to there disorders not only registered their complaints and circulated petitions but actively engaged in various campaigns which resulted in the establishment of a pollution control ordinance. This ordinance also became the driving force in encouraging people to take civil action against the government and offending companies and to promote antipollution measures.

Air pollution (sulfur dioxide) Warning Announcements

Kawasaki City Pollution Bureau Survey

Year	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973
No.of warnings	29	19	8	7	9
duration of warning	105h25min	53h45min	21h20min	19h50min	14h50min

Nationwide rise in pollution-related claims and action taken by the Govarnment.

The serious effects of pollution were not limited to Kawasaki but were occurring all over Japan. Camplaints for the most part were made to local public bodies. As a result, local municipal governments were the first to take action to address the situation. To clarify its fundamental position on the prevention of pollution, the national government drafted legislation concerning pollution problem in 1970. This was followed by the establishment of the Environment Agency in 1971. These formed the basic framework of pollution control regulations today.

Number of pollution-related complaints processed by local public bodies.

Report by the Environmental Dispute Coordination Committee, Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications.

Year	total	air pollution	water pollution	soil contamination	noise	vibrations	land subsidence	odors
1970	59,467	12,911	8,913	67	22,568		11	14,997
1971	70,014	13,798	11,676	262	25,591		937	17,750
1972	79,727	15,096	14,197	408	28,376		74	21,576
1973	78,825	14,234	14,726	466	28,632		93	19,674
1974	68,538	12,145	14,496	478	24,195		84	17,140
1975	67,374	11,873	13,453	593	23,812		68	17,516
1976	61,762	11,119	11,714	440	23,913		65	15,123
1977	61,762	10,697	10,509	292	20,722	3,493	62	15,987
1978	60,953	10,534	9,736	216	21,305	3,478	74	15,610
1979	59,257	10,819	8,725	185	21,667	3,211	59	14,591

 14 antipollution-related laws and ordinances amended or established in 1970

• Basic Law for Environmental Control
• Road Traffic Law
• Noise Control Low
• Waste Disposal Law
• Sewerage Law
• Pollution Control Public Works Cost Allocation Law
• Law Relating to the Prevention of Marine Pollution and Maritime Disasters
• Law for the Punishment of Environmental Pollution Crimes relating to Human Health
• Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law
• Agricultural Land Soil Pollution Prevention Law
• The Prevention of Water Pollution Law
• Air Pollution Control Law
• Natural Park Law
• Toxic Substances and Violent Poison Control Law

Kawasaki Pollution Lawsuit

Victims of pollution initiated court proceedings demanding compensation for adverse effects on their health due to polltion.(1982)
The Kanagawa Prefectural Kawasaki Library houses files related to pollution litigation.