Circular Economy in Japan

Circular Economy refers to the closed loop of materials, kept in circulation in our economy for as long as possible. For businesses, it means a responsible way to manufacturing goods and an ethical philosophy for recycling. For consumers, it also means waste is not produced (zero waste!). In recent years, Japan has been actively promoting Circular Economy, leading many exciting changes!

But why is Circular Economy important? Because it challenges the irresponsible and wasteful nature of how we manufacture and consume. This is what we know as the Linear Economy of Take-Make-Waste: Taking endlessly from limited resources, mass production aimed at mass consumption, and irresponsible discarding of used products. The Circular Economy challenges the Linear Economy, offering a better way forward.

Circular Economy trends and milestones in Japan
Laws and Regulations related to Circular Economy
Concepts related to the Circular Economy
Circular Economy case studies from Japan
Organizations promoting Circular Economy in Japan
Youtube Channel: Circular Economy Basics
The latest news about Circular Economy in Japan
Commonly asked questions about Circular Economy

Circular Economy trends and milestones in Japan

There is a lot of recent buzz and trends around circular economy, though we see a steady increase in awareness of circular economy in Japan from 2018. Google Trends shows that Circular Economy has sustained interest in Japan.

The slow rise in popularity for “circular economy” on Google Trends, showing sustained interest in Japan. (via Google Trends)

5th Basic Environmental Plan (2018)

Approved by the Cabinet in April 2018, the 5th Basic Environmental Plan introduces the concept of a “Circular and Ecological Economy.” This concept focuses on regional resource utilization and addresses complex environmental, economic, and social issues through integrated solutions. The direction taken was towards creating sustainable regions by energizing rural areas and building a sustainable society based on circulation and symbiosis, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It focused on the formation of self-reliant, decentralized societies that maximize the use of regional resources, emphasized on local production for local consumption, and sought to introduce renewable energy sources.

Circular Economy Vision 2020

The Circular Economy Vision 2020, developed by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), serves as a comprehensive roadmap for Japan’s transition to a circular economy. This vision aims to create sustainable business models that enhance resource efficiency and promote the reuse and recycling of materials. The vision sets a framework for industries to follow, driving innovation and fostering collaboration between public and private sectors to achieve a more sustainable economic system. Industries are encouraged to shift from linear to circular business models. To do so, there is a need to improve resource efficiency across various sectors, and support the development of new technologies and systems for resource recycling.

Plastic Resource Circulation Act (2022)

Enacted in April 2022, the Plastic Resource Circulation Act aims to address Japan’s significant plastic waste issue by reducing plastic waste through comprehensive management. This includes measures from the production stage to the recycling and disposal of plastic products. The act includes the introduction of plastic bag charges, regulations for manufacturers to ensure better recyclability of plastic products, and the promotion of technologies and systems for plastic recycling.

Partnership with the World Economic Forum

Japan has partnered with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to promote circular economy initiatives. This collaboration aims to identify key focus areas, address barriers, and outline next steps for transitioning to a circular economy. It includes the facilitation of public-private sector dialogue to drive circular economy strategies, development of policies and practices to accelerate sustainable finance, and a focus on high-impact areas such as plastics and electronics.

Carbon Neutrality by 2050

Japan has announced its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. This ambitious goal is part of its broader circular economy initiatives and aligns with global efforts to combat climate change. Achieving carbon neutrality will significantly contribute to global climate goals and enhance Japan’s sustainability efforts. The strategies to achieve carbon neutrality include the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across various sectors, promotion of renewable energy and energy efficiency, and encouragement of sustainable practices in industries and communities.

Concepts related to the Circular Economy

Very often, we hear similar ideas that make references to Circular Economy, because these ideas are often similar or even conisdered essential parts of the Circular Economy. Here are some of the terms that you may have heard before.

Biomimicry

Biomimicry involves imitating natural processes and systems to solve human challenges, thus promoting sustainability by reducing resource consumption and environmental impact through innovative, nature-inspired solutions. This concept is applied in areas like design and engineering to create sustainable solutions by learning from nature’s time-tested patterns and strategies. Our personal favorite is how waste does not exist but everything is reused, and how ecosystems are regenerative.

Industrial Symbiosis

Industrial symbiosis involves different industries working together to use each other’s by-products and waste materials as resources. This creates a network where waste from one process becomes the input for another, lowering production costs, enhancing resource efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

Product-as-a-Service (PaaS)

PaaS shifts the business model from selling products to providing services that fulfill the same need. Companies retain ownership of the product and offer it as a service, ensuring products are returned and recycled or reused at the end of their life cycle. In fact, this concept encourages companies to design products that are durable, repairable, and recyclable, aligning with circular economy principles by reducing waste

Circular Design

Circular design focuses on creating products with their entire lifecycle in mind, ensuring they can be easily disassembled, repaired, and recycled. This concept emphasizes designing out waste and keeping products and materials in use for as long as possible.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

EPR policies make manufacturers responsible for the entire lifecycle of their products, including take-back, recycling, and final disposal. This encourages producers to design products that are easier to recycle and have a lower environmental impact. It also shifts the responsibility for waste management from consumers and governments to producers.

Circular Cities

Circular cities integrate circular economy principles into urban planning and development, focusing on resource efficiency, waste reduction, and sustainable living practices.

Circular Economy case studies in Japan

Smartphone Shredder ZAURUS

As an affordable service, smartphone shredding service ZAURUS recycles old electronic devices (mainly smartphones). Literally shredding the old devices that customers bring in, their urban mining process assists in breaking the devices into pieces for recycling. They even provide a certificate to guarantee the protected privacy of the customers.

The batteries are first removed from the smartphones, before the rest is fed into the shredder. The shredder pieces and batteries are then sent to extractors, who will extract the rare metals. The metals are then sent back to the manufacturing processes of new electronic devices, thereby closing the loop on rare metals.

BRING T Shirts

What is the cost of making T-shirts? As it turns out, a whole lot of oil. Oil is an essential ingredient that produces polyester used in making T-shirts. Therefore BRING T-shirts want to end our dependency on this non-renewable resource.

BRING produces a circular economy of T-shirts, by making old t-shirts out of old ones. It does so by using the polyester from discarded T-shirts to make new ones. As a matter of fact, they are able to produce T-shirts of a higher quality, for example by adding UV protection. Till now, they have partnered with multiple fashion brands to collect different used clothing, including tshirts, socks and underwear.

“Rename” by FINE Inc.

The apparel industry creates a lot of waste, not only in Japan but worldwide. One of the biggest source of waste is the unsold merchandise, discarded without alternatives. FINE Inc. from Japan has created the brand “Rename” that to tackle this problem.

Brands are often adverse to reselling unsold merchandise, for fear of hurting the brand reputation. Rename enters the picture. replacing the brand tags with Rename tags. This greatly reduces clothing waste while creating a quality brand.

Learn more about how Rename works here

iKasa

iKasa is Japan’s first sharing economy for umbrellas. This is an important infrastructure because umbrellas account for a large amount of waste that Japan produces annually.

However, sharing economy is not the only benefit iKasa pushes for. It is introducing repair for their products. This reflects the extension of the product’s lifecycle with in a circular loop. This not only lengthens the life of each umbrella, it also pushes for responsible usage, reducing costs of umbrella waste disposal, while moving towards a Product as a Service model.

More on iKasa's umbrella sharing service here

Organizations promoting Circular Economy in Japan

- Circular Economy Japan : The organization’s goal is to build a circular economy that meets an international standard in Japan.
- Circular Economy Lab Japan (currently offline): This organization wants to encourage their peers to take actual action to move toward a circular economy in Japan.
- Circular Economy Hub : This platform shares the latest news, events, workshops etc, while also educating the public and businesses the concepts of circular economy.
- Circular Yokohama : This is a platform that wants to speed up the adoption of circular economy in Yokohama. In turn, it hopes to tackle concerns in Yokohama, and brings out the best in the city.
- Circular Economy Organization : This organization was founded to revolutionize all industries through the developments of IoT, Big Data, Mobile tech, Cloud tech and Artificial Intelligence.
- Kanagawa Upcycle Consortium : This consortium wants to promote its upcycle model, and become the leading model of a circular economy of the world.