Unfortunately, plastic still reigns supreme in Japan. But amid global concern about single-use waste, new legislation could help end the country's love affair with plastic.
This environmental push comes ahead of the G20 summit, which Japan will host in Osaka in June. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government wants to use the meeting to push for an agreement on reducing marine plastic waste. But the country's own record on single-use plastic is hardly exemplary: according to the UN, Japan generates more plastic packaging waste per capita than any other country except the United States.
"We believe there is room to reduce that volume and we are now considering ways to do that," said Kentaro Doi, director of plastic waste strategy at Japan's environment ministry.
In 2018, Japan's government unveiled a proposal to start tackling the issue, with the goal of reducing the country's 9.4 million tonnes of plastic waste a year by 25 percent by 2030.
A key part of the proposal is to require businesses to charge for plastic bags -- a measure that has been already been widely adopted around the world.
But government officials acknowledge Japan is coming to the issue late -- dozens of countries already require businesses to charge for plastic bags, and many have banned their use outright.
"Other countries were ahead of us," concedes Doi, adding that the policy in Japan "will be introduced in 2020, at the earliest."
