Efforts have been under way in Japan in recent years to switch the approach to river water control to tackle the growing risk of floods as climate change intensifies. The shift offers a neat parallel to what the Bank of Japan is trying to do to adjust its bold experiment in monetary policy.
The shift in water control has been away from a reliance on fixed infrastructure such as dams and embankments under a river management authority. These have sometimes proven unable to cope with unexpected increases in rainfall and river flows. Instead, the newer approach seeks to minimise damage by allowing a limited and intentional flow of water outside embankments while using wide-ranging facilities such as fields and infrastructure in river basins as a buffer.