Annual nationwide environmental impact assessment of Japanese municipalities within the framework of endpoint-type LCIA method “LIME2” (Part 2): Visualization of temporal changes

This study seeks to visualize the temporal changes in environmental damage in Japanese administrative divisions (municipalities) from 2000 to 2015 using the LCIA method LIME2. Using statistical information that was reliable, verifiable, and comparable, the total amount of environmental damage for the whole of Japan was calculated to be 8.40, 8.47, 7.50, and 7.41 trillion yen in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, respectively. Spatial mapping of these temporal changes provides insights into the effects of local environmental policies and industrial activities across the country. It became possible to visualize the change over time in environmental loads based on social factors related to each period in Japan.