The Ministries and local governments have taken several measures which contribute to the mitigation of urban heat island effects. In order to further promote measures appropriately, the Japanese government strengthened coordination between various measures and government agencies to implement them systematically. The Revised Three Year Program to Promote Regulatory Reform, decided by the Japanese Cabinet in March 2002, stipulated an institutional arrangement including the establishment of the Inter-Ministry Coordination Committee and to consider and conclude on the drawing up of the policy framework to reduce urban heat island effect.

The framework reviews the current state of urban heat island in Japan, existing policies, and strategies to maximize their effectiveness through coordinated implementation.