For this preliminary study I have decided to look deeper into 4 prefectures in Japan.  They are, Aichi, Okayama, Nagano and Hokkaido.  These four prefectures are contained in 3 (Chubu, Chugoku, and Hokkaido) of the 8 regions I had previously divided the nation into.  New shapefiles were constructed for the highlighted areas below:

First and foremost for this study I hypothesize that there may be 2 plausible factors that may affect the location of hazardous waste disposal facilities in Japan.  The first may have to do with the degree of industrialization and the second may have to do with the geographical location of the prefecture itself such as proximity to the ocean.  If a region harbors more industrial companies and factories, it is more likely to create toxic wastes and house more hazardous waste facilities, not only permanent waste facilities, but a high likelihood of temporal ones as well.  Likewise, if a prefecture faces the ocean, it may be an ideal location for a hazardous waste facility since it is much easier to transfer wastes by ship elsewhere or even use neighboring water resources to treat toxins before it is transported.

Why These 4 Prefectures Were Selected

Aichi and Okayama are the relatively more industrialized prefectures while Hokkaido and Nagano are less industrialized.  Aichi houses the Toyota Motor Company as well as some major iron and chemical industries.  Okayama has the largest oil-refinery in the nation and other large petroleum industries.  On the other hand, Nagano and Hokkaido are prefectures that are mainly agricultural in nature.  Geographically, among the four prefectures, Nagano is not surrounded by water at all, while the other three have parts that abut the ocean.

Hazardous Waste Facilities

For this portion of the analysis, I have incorporated  'specially controlled waste disposal facilities' of all three types, Permanent, Temporary and Transporter.

Some Results

Below, are four prefectures with the 3 different types of hazardous waste facilities in Japan overlayed on top of the prefectural areas.  The Permanent 'specially controlled waste disposal facilities' are coded by green triangles, the Temporary 'specially controlled waste disposal facilities' are coded by the light blue squares and the Transporter 'specially controlled waste disposal facilities' are coded by red circles.

Click on the image below to see these regions with the neighboring land and water regions as well as some further analysis.

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