Japan’s MLIT Issues Guidelines for Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources

On August 21, 2026, Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) released the Guidelines for Assessing the Impacts of Climate Change on Water Resources, which compile nationwide trends in climate‑change impacts and concrete basin‑level assessment methods, in order to address the worsening of drought conditions and changes in snowfall patterns caused by climate change. Record low rainfall in 2025 resulted in drought conditions, underscoring the urgent need to shift water‑resource policy from the traditional “demand‑driven” model—focused on expanding water demand associated with population growth and economic development—to a “risk‑management” model that addresses aging water infrastructure, large‑scale disasters such as earthquakes, and climate‑change‑driven risks.