The EU Studies Institute in Tokyo (EUSI Tokyo) is a consortium of Hitotsubashi University, Keio University, and Tsuda College. It is sponsored by the European Union and promotes academic education, research, and activities engendering public knowledge of the EU in Japan. It aims at strengthening the relations between Japan and the EU. As outreach and academic activities, the EUSI has held symposiums, workshops, and seminars. The EUSI laws focused on environmental issues from 2013 to 2015. We had EUSI symposiums titled ‘Contemporary Issues in EU Environmental Law: Part I’ on 28 October 2014 and ‘Contemporary Issues in EU Environmental Law: Part II’ on 21 April 2015. In addition, we held an EUSI workshop titled ‘Principles of EU Environmental Law: An Appraisal’ on 30 October 2014. We have also regularly held research seminars on environmental law. This book is based on the results presented at these research gatherings. This book presents a variety of articles on contemporary issues in environmental law by eminent university professors of environmental law, international public law, European Union law, and comparative law in Europe and Japan. It is the first book in the field of environmental law based on the results of international conferences and research activities supported by the European Union delegation in Japan. Current essential and global topics such as principles of environmental law, climate change, biodiversity, ethics pertaining to animal rights, nuclear safety regime after Fukushima, environmental impact assessments, protecting international waters, genetically-modified organisms, and implementing international instruments, and EU rules at the national level are discussed in light of the 2009 Treaty of Lisbon and other recent international treaties, by comparing the approaches taken by the EU, European countries, and Japan.