Food Waste in Japan

According to Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, more than 5.7 million tons of edible food is discarded in 2019 in Japan. There is a trend of reduction, but still a worrisome amount. This gargantuan food waste has led Japaneses policy makers and the citizens to start taking food waste seriously. Action is being taken on various levels to tackle food waste, especially to meet the target 3 of Sustainable Development Goal 12, to halve food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains.

Food Waste in Japan
Law and Regulations related to Food Waste
Food Waste case studies in Japan
Inspiring Food Waste reduction in Japan
The latest news about Food Waste in Japan
Unique ideas to reduce food waste

Policy is important as it signals a government’s commitment to approach a problem. Japan announced and passed a new law for food waste early 2019, in hopes to create awareness for the country’s food waste problems and assist food banks.

If we look at the latest trends for “food waste” in Japan on Google Trends, we see a big spike in the beginning of 2020. Even though there has been constant effort to get the public be aware of the food waste problem in Japan, this spike is partly due to the coronavirus outbreak and self-quarantine. Japanese restaurants and food suppliers started to see how demand has suddenly dropped, causing a danger of food wastage from unsold inventory. Paired with the downwards trend in recent years, Japan may very well meet the target to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.

Laws and Regulations related to Food Waste

On May 24 2019, a law for food waste was officially introduced by the Japanese parliament. The law aims to create awareness of the food loss problems in Japan, and to improve resources to food banks.

Since the law stipulates that the national government and local authorities are responsible for reducing food waste, it has spurred constant action to tackle the problem. On top of this, October 30 is assigned as the nation’s Food Loss Reduction Day.

[Reference] Promotion of Food Loss Reduction law

Food Waste case studies in Japan

The “Fuku Gohan Project”

Ever wondered where the unsold, exhibited food at marches or markets go after events? Unless there is a heightened awareness for the environment, the food will likely be discarded. Event organisers of Hama-cho Marche in Tokyo understands the problem, and has introduced not one but three solutions!

Among the solutions, the most unique is probably the “Fuku Gohan Spa”. It involves taking the unsold fruits from the marche, which are often brusied lemons or oranges. These are transformed into ingredients for hot bathes and after-bath drinks at a local bath house.

Learn about the other solutions Fuku Gohan Project has

Bread beer, Japan’s first craft beer coming bread leftovers

This collaboration shows how some food establishments are dealing with food waste through innovation. The bread beer is the creation of the bakery cafe Bricolage bread & co, Nagano-based brewery AJB and the environmental organization 530 week.

As the name suggests, the beer is made from the leftover bread crusts from the bakery cafe. However, that is not the only sustainability benefit. The by-products from the making of the beer is passed on to neighboring farmers, thereby creating a truly zero waste process.

Find out more about bread beer's launch here

Inspiring Food Waste reduction in Japan

With the passing of the Food Loss Law, local governments have taken action to encourage their citizens to reduce food waste.

Kumamoto City’s “Mottainai! Zero Leftovers Campaign” – Kumamoto’s Environment Bureau encourages it citizens to “order just enough food”, among other food loss prevention philosophies. They are also actively looking for F&B establishments to join in the campaign against food waste.

Saitama Prefecture’s “SaiTaMa Great Completed Meal Strategy” – Saitama promotes food waste awareness by giving its citizens a memorable 3-step: Style (lifestyle adjustments), Time (focus on finishing food at events within the last 15 min), and Menu (consider smaller portions when eating, or choosing zero waste recipes).

Okayama Prefecture’s “Reducing waste in food and households” – Okayama’s Recycling Society Division understands how deeply linked food is to households. Family-oriented initiatives are thus introduced, for example recipe contests, food waste guidebook and educational talks in schools.

Unique ideas to reduce food waste

While choosing and questioning during food purchases is a good way to reduce food waste, there are many more ideas that you can use or implement where you stay! Here are some ideas there are working in Japan.

Using apps to facilitate leftover food purchases

One main source of food waste comes from Food and Beverage industry. This, in particular, comes from restaurants, cafes, bakeries and more, because very often there are leftovers.

In Japan, there are a number of apps that connect customers with these leftover food, often at a deal for customers. Moreover, it’s a win-win situation for businesses, since they can sell their products which would otherwise be discarded. We’ve updated the available services and apps that have gained following in Japan, with unique offerings for users in Kanto and Kansai regions.

Read about the food sharing apps and services here

Introducing composting at home

Another source of food waste largely comes from home. But there is an ideal way to handle them: through composting. Instead of discarding unused food pieces like egg shells or orange peels, they can be used as feritilizers. By having a little “garden”, we can use these food waste to grow vegetables that we can eat, thus closing the loop of a circular food system. Food waste is reduced, possibly even to zero waste.

Local Food Cycling recently released their portable compost kit, LFC Compost, so that people in the city can do composting even in an urban environment. It has caught a lot of attention, and even had a collaboration with a hotel to introduce composting on a larger scale and reduce their food waste.

Educating the public about food waste in a fun way!

Understanding the severe problem about food waste in Japan is essential to get everyone on board with the reduction of it. Every month, a game session about food waste is held in Osaka, called the Tabenokoshi NO Game, or the Leftover Game.

It is a simple game that penalizes for having leftovers! But more importanly, it is designed so that players can remind themselves that there are easy ways businesses and customers can prevent food waste, like introducing takeaways, menu planning and self-control.

Learn more about the Food Waste Card Game here

Using traditional artistry to tackle modern food waste

Washi, or Japanese paper, is a traditional, highly environmentally friendly product that still have fans around the world today. Now, washi is offer a solution to our food waste. In particular, a paper company is turning rice that would have ended up as waste into paper, calling it “kome-kami,” or “rice paper.” It’s is impressive to think how centuries old traditions can still evolve and provide answers to today’s problems.

Learn more about circular papermaking here