Japanese Red List

Hokkaido wolf (Canis lupus hattai), one of 110[1] taxa classed as Extinct[2] on the 2020 Japanese Red List (Hokkaido University Museum)

The Japanese Red List (レッドリスト, reddo risuto) is the Japanese domestic counterpart to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The national Red List is compiled and maintained by the Ministry of the Environment, alongside a separate Red List for marine organisms. Similarly drawing on the relevant scientific authorities, NGOs, and local governments, the Ministry of the Environment also prepares and publishes a Red Data Book (レッドドデータブック, reddo dēta bukku) that provides further information on species and habitats.[3][4]

The first Red List was published by the then Environmental Agency as part of the first Red Data Book in 1991; in 2020, the fifth edition of the fourth version of the Red List was published.[2][5] In line with the Marine Biodiversity Conservation Strategy, decided upon by the Ministry in 2011, in 2017 the first Marine Life Red List was published, excluding species subject to international agreements, such as those within the remit of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) (e.g., Pacific bluefin tuna) and International Whaling Commission (IWC), species under evaluation by the Fisheries Agency, smaller Cetaceans, and those already evaluated for the Red List.[6]

With the renewed focus on evaluating the rarity or otherwise of marine life in line with the National Biodiversity Strategy 2012–2020, using the same evaluation criteria and categories as the Ministry of the Environment, and working in collaboration with the Ministry, the Fisheries Agency has also produced a Red List of marine resources and smaller Cetaceans, excluding species subject to international agreements, such as those in the remit of the WCPFC and IWC.[7] Evaluations of 94 species were published in 2017, all falling outside the rankings (i.e., being of Least Concern), other than Pleuronichthys japonicus (Data Deficient).[2][7]

The Red List (and Red Data Book) itself has no legal force but is intended to be used to provide information and to serve as a "warning to society".[3] Appropriate action may be taken under the 1992 Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora Act [ja].[6]

Classification

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As of the 2020 edition, thirteen taxa are used for classification purposes by the Ministry of the Environment:[3][8]

Five further taxa are used for the Marine Life Red List:[3][6]

The following categories are used to indicate organisms' conservation status specifically within Japan; where a species or subspecies is endemic, the status EX (Extinct) is indicative of its global status.[3]

The dugong (dugong dugon) VU IUCN, VU at a global level on the IUCN Red List, CR on the Japanese Red List;[2] those found in the waters around northern Okinawa Island comprise the northernmost population globally[9] and are protected as a Natural Monument under the 1950 Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties[10]
Classification Definition
絶滅 (EX) Extinct in Japan
野生絶滅 (EW) Extinct in the Wild
絶滅危惧I類 (CR+EN) Threatened I
絶滅危惧IA類(CR) Critically Endangered
絶滅危惧IB類(EN) Endangered
絶滅危惧II類 (VU) Threatened II—Vulnerable
準絶滅危惧 (NT) Near-Threatened
情報不足(DD) Data Deficient
絶滅のおそれのある地域個体群 (LP) Local Population at high risk of extinction

Statistics

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Ministry of the Environment Red List 4.5 (2020)[2] and Marine Life Red List 1.0 (2017)[6]
Taxon Total EX EW CR EN VU NT DD LP
Fauna Mammals 160 7 0 12 13 9 17 5 26
Birds c.700 15 0 24 31 43 22 17 2
Reptiles 100 0 0 5 9 23 17 3 5
Amphibians 91 0 0 5 20 22 19 1 0
Brackish and Freshwater Fish c.400 3 1 71 54 44 35 37 15
Insects c.32,000 4 0 75 107 185 351 153 2
Molluscs c.3,200 19 0 39 28 328 440 89 13
Other Invertebrates c.5,300 1 0 0 2 43 42 44 0
Flora Vascular Plants c.7,000 28 11 529 520 741 297 37 0
Bryophytes c.1,800 0 0 137 103 21 21 0
Algae c.3,000 4 1 95 21 41 40 0
Lichens c.1,600 4 0 43 20 41 46 0
Fungi c.3,000 25 1 37 24 21 51 0
Marine Fish c.3,900 0 0 8 6 2 89 112 2
Coral c.690 1 0 0 1 5 7 1 0
Crustaceans c.3,000 0 0 8 11 11 43 98 2
Molluscs c.230 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0
Other Invertebrates c.2,300 0 0 1 2 1 20 13 1

Extinct taxa

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Prefectural Red Lists

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Localized Red Lists and Red Data are also prepared and published by a number of Prefectural Governments, including those of Hokkaidō[11] and Okinawa.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ 環境省レッドリスト2020掲載種数表 [Table with the Total Number of Listed Species (2020 edition)] (PDF) (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e レッドデータブック・レッドリスト [Red Data Book and Red List] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d e はじめに—レッドデータブック・レッドリストの概要 [Outline of the Red Data Book and Red List] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  4. ^ レッドリスト [Red List] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Protection of Endangered Species". Ministry of the Environment. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  6. ^ a b c d 環境省版海洋生物レッドリストの公表について [On the Official Announcement of the Ministry of the Environment Marine Life Red List] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 21 March 2019. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b 海洋生物レッドリストの公表について [On the Official Announcement of the Marine Life Red List] (in Japanese). Fisheries Agency. 21 March 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  8. ^ 環境省レッドリスト2020の公表について [On the Official Announcement of the Ministry of the Environment Red List] (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  9. ^ Ohdachi, S. D.; et al., eds. (2015). The Wild Mammals of Japan (2 ed.). Shoukadoh and The Mammal Society of Japan. p. 300. ISBN 978-4879746917.
  10. ^ "Database of National Cultural Properties" (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  11. ^ 北海道レッドリストについて [About the Hokkaidō Red List] (in Japanese). Hokkaidō Government. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
  12. ^ 改訂・沖縄県の絶滅のおそれのある野生生物(レッドデータおきなわ)第3版-動物編 [Endangered Wildlife in Okinawa Prefecture (Okinawa Red Data) 3rd Edition: Fauna] (in Japanese). Okinawa Prefectural Government. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2021.
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