Japan

Prevention and reduction of plastic waste generation

Charge for single-use plastic products (e.g. shopping bags, straws)　

Names of actions:
charge for plastic shopping bags

Targeted products:
plastic shopping bags

Brief description:
From July 2020, a charge for plastic shopping bags was started

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Estimated amount of plastic bag for domestic distribution decreased to about 130 thousand ton in FY2020, which was about 200 thousand ton in FY2019.

(reference)
Encyclopedia on market share of packaging materials (2020)

(Japan Comprehensive Economic Research Center Co., Ltd)

Actions for encouraging sustainable / circular product design　

Names of actions:
Enforcement of sound environmental design

Brief description:
Enforcement of sound environmental design including weight-saving for single use containers and packages

We do not see any particular trend

Numerical data if any:
Amount of waste plastic generated (slightly decreased compared to FY2018)

(reference)
“The status of production, disposal, recycling and treatment of plastic products” (Plastic Waste Management Institute JAPAN)

Measures

Achievements

Environmentally sound waste management

Enforcement of proper waste management system

Names of actions:
Enforcement of proper waste management system

Brief description:
i. Comprehensive enforcement of waste collection based on public cooperation, e.g. appropriate waste segregation and disposal practice, in accordance with waste management and recycle regulations;

ii. Installation of recycling facilities to increase domestic recycling capability and to improve recycling of polystyrene foam boxes often used in fisheries with updated technology;

iii. Enforcement of collection and appropriate treatment of agricultural-generated used plastic in collaboration with related associations;

iv. Enforcement of onshore collection and appropriate treatment of plastic wastes, such as used fishing gear by guidelines developed in 2020;

v. Support ODA programs in developing countries for waste regulations, capacity and institutional building for waste management, formulation of action plans, and installation of high quality environmental infrastructure such as waste-to-energy plants.

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Amount of waste plastic recycled, heat recovered, incinerated without energy recovery, and land filled (ratio of effective use (thermal recovery and recycling) was 85.4% in FY2019, which increased by 1.8% compared to FY2018)

(reference)
“The status of production, disposal, recycling and treatment of plastic products” (Plastic Waste Management Institute JAPAN)

Prevention of littering, illegal dumping and unintentional leakage of waste into the ocean

Names of actions:
Prevention of littering, illegal dumping and unintentional leakage of waste into the ocean

Brief description:
i. Strengthen patrol activities by national and local government;

ii. Support beverage industry association to install PET bottle collection boxes next to vending machines to achieve 100% recycling;

iii. Prevent unintentional leakage of plastics through appropriate use and proper management of fishing gear by fishers.

We do not see any particular trend

Numerical data if any:
Collected amount of land-based litter, illegal dumping, and scattered waste

(reference)
“Estimated amount collected by clean-up and collection activities”:

Estimated amount, excluding the amount collected on the coast, based on the amount collected by prefectures and municipalities

“Amount proportion of plastics “:
Estimated amount collected, based on the results of those local governments which have data on the amount of plastic

Others

The “MARINE Initiative” was launched focusing on (1) Management of wastes, (2) Recovery of marine litter, (3) Innovation, and (4) Empowerment including provision of training for 10,000 officials engaging in waste management all over the world by 2025. Based on the MARINE Initiative, Japan, in cooperation with international organizations, has implemented numerous projects to tackle marine plastic pollution.

Measures

Achievements

Cleanup of marine plastic litter

Collection of scattered waste on beach

Names of actions:
Collection of scattered waste on land

Brief description:
i. Nationwide clean-up event during “UMIGOMI Zero Week” (“umigomi” means marine litter in Japanese). Approximately 430,000 people participated in the event in 2019. In 2020, distribution of guidelines for clean-up events while prevention COVID-19;

ii. Support of the “Adopt Program” for citizens to carry out cleaning, beautification and management activities with a strong attachment to local public areas;

iii. Support to clean-up and litter collection activities in cooperation with river administration authorities, local governments, and residents.

We do not see any particular trend

Numerical data if any:
Collected amount of marine litter from clean-ups (situation is deteriorating compared to FY2017);

(reference)
Comprehensive Investigation on Measures to Tackle Beach Debris (FY 2016)

http://www.env.go.jp/water/marine_litter/pamph.html

Total litter: The above data describes the amount collected by local government.

Marine plastic litter: estimated by multiplying the volume of processed litter by the proportion of plastic litter calculated through sample survey.

Removal of plastic litter from the ocean

Names of actions:
Removal of plastic litter from the ocean

Brief description:
i. Support local governments to conduct collection and treatment of coastal marine litter in accordance with “Act on Promoting the Treatment of Marine Debris Affecting the Conservation of Good Coastal Landscapes and Environments to Protect Natural Beauty and Variety” (hereafter “Marine Litter Act”);

ii. Support collection of marine litter by fishers in collaboration with local governments/communities. In order to expand this effort, a demonstration project was started from FY2020. In addition, when fishers volunteer to collect marine litter, the national government has started to provide the litter processing cost for fishers to collect marine litter voluntarily. Support for fishers in 30 prefectures has been decided. Financial support is provided for fishery cleanup activities carried out by fishers who were forced to suspend their operations due to the effects of COVID-19;

iii. Collection of floating marine litter using marine environment maintenance vessels in enclosed sea areas, and by port administration authorities in port areas.

We do not see any particular trend

Measures

Achievements

Promotion of innovative solutions

Policy actions for encouraging plastic alternatives (e.g. biodegradable plastics, circular product design – including use of recycled materials or closed loop recycling and so on’)

Brief description:
i. Technological development based on “Roadmap for Popularizing Development and Introduction of Marine Biodegradable Bio-based Plastics” such as analysis of biodegradation mechanism, development of new resin, reduction of manufacturing cost, and international standardization;

ii. Support for development of marine biodegradable plastic especially for fishing gear;

iii. Support for replacement of plastic products with paper, marine biodegradable plastics, cellulose materials, etc. through the “Project on building a recycling system for plastics to support decarbonized society”. The support was started for actions on microbeads in FY2020, and continued for measures on other plastic materials as well in FY2021;

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Budget scale of technologies development and R&D

(reference)
Meeting materials for expert conference on measures against articles that drift ashore

http://www.env.go.jp/water/marine_litter/conf.html

Public-private partnerships for creating and implementing innovative solution

Brief description:
i. “Clean Ocean Material Alliance (CLOMA)” has developed a valuable alliance among relevant business operators, which make up the plastic supply chain, in order to create innovative approaches;

ⅱ. From FY2020, a study was started to develop fishing gear that is easy to recycle, such as gear made of a single plastic material and gear made of multiple materials that can be easily disassembled and separated;

ⅲ.Development of an efficient decomposition method for plastic waste using micro-organisms.

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Budget scale of technologies development and R&D

(reference)
Meeting materials for expert conference on measures against articles that drift ashore

http://www.env.go.jp/water/marine_litter/conf.html

Others

Proposal to the international standard of a method for measurement of fiber fragment mass released from textile and products.

Measures

Achievements

Education and awareness raising

Education system for encouraging public awareness on MPL issues

“Plastics Smart” campaign was launched to encourage all stakeholders to prevent generation of marine litter

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Number of registered cases for “Plastics Smart” campaign

(reference)

http://plastics-smart.env.go.jp

Awareness raising campaigns related to MPL

National level:
Names of actions 1:
Plastics Smart

Brief description:
“Plastics Smart” campaign was launched to encourage all stakeholders to prevent generation of marine litter

Names of actions 2:
UMIGOMI Zero Award

Brief description:
“UMIGOMI Zero Award” is held to award good practices (“umigomi” means marine litter in Japanese). There were 314 applications in 2020

Names of actions 3: Good Practices for Reducing Microplastics

Brief description:
“Good　Practices　for　Reducing Microplastics” is a collection of Japanese companies’ efforts and technologies contributing to the prevention, reduction, and collection of microplastics, in order to disseminate them domestically and internationally.

Local level:
Names of actions:　Local Blue Ocean Vision Project

Brief description:
Model projects for local governments have been conducted to measure marine litter as a common issue for both coastal region and inland. Five regions were newly selected as models in FY2021

International / Regional level:
Names of actions:
Regional Knowledge Center for marine plastic litter

Brief description:
Regional Knowledge Center for marine plastic litter, established at ERIA (Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia) in 2019 with the support of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan, deals with information sharing to raise awareness and to promote efforts taken by private sector and citizens.

The specific approaches are as follows;

i. Creation of online platform to share good practices accomplished by the private sector

ⅱ.Providing information on related policies for the private sector

ⅲSharing positive case studies of good practices of private companies

National level:
We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Number of registered cases for “Plastics Smart” campaign

(reference)

http://plastics-smart.env.go.jp/

Local level:

We see a positive improvement from last two years

International / Regional level:

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Measures

Achievements

Monitoring & Scientific research on marine plastic litter

Actions for encouraging monitoring / scientific research on plastic flows and ocean surface microplastics

Names of actions 1:
Harmonization of Microplastics Monitoring Methodologies in the Ocean

Brief description:
Taking the lead on international harmonization of monitoring methods. In June 2020, the guidelines for harmonizing monitoring methods were revised to make them easier to use for developing countries

“Guidelines for Harmonizing Ocean Surface Microplastic Monitoring Methods”

http://www.env.go.jp/en/water/marine_litter/guidelines/guidelines.pdf

Names of actions 2:
Brief description:

Investigation and estimation of domestically-generated amount and routes, as well as an investigation into floating plastic

Names of actions3:
Research on toxicity evaluation methods for marine plastic litter, including microplastics, on human health and on the ecosystem

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Budget scale of technologies development and R&D

(reference)

Meeting materials for expert conference on measures against articles that drift ashore

http://www.env.go.jp/water/marine_litter/conf.html

Engagement in international/regional level actions for encouraging monitoring / scientific research on plastic flows and ocean surface microplastics

Names of actions:
Data hub of monitoring data on floating micorplastics

Brief description:
Taking the lead on international compilation of ocean surface microplastic monitoring data.

MOEJ organized the “G20 workshop on harmonized monitoring and data compilation of marine plastic litter” in September 2020, and based on the Workshop results, started discussions and consultations with national and international experts to develop a data sharing system for ocean surface microplastics.

We see a positive improvement from last two years

Numerical data if any:
Participants of the “G20 workshop on harmonized monitoring and data compilation of marine plastic litter” was about 160 people from 31 countries

(reference)

Workshop website
https://g20mpl.org/archives/893