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A fee on plastic bags was introduced in Japanese supermarkets, major convenience stores and department stores on 1 July. The charge will be $3 to $5 cents per bag, but some critics have claimed the fee is too low to significantly discourage the use of plastic bags.
Japan is one of the world's most plastic obsessed countries, generating more plastic waste per person than anywhere else on Earth except the US. Out of the 540bn plastic bags used worldwide annually, Japanese consumers account for 30bn. This means that Japan, which has twice the population of the UK, uses 17 times more plastic bags than British consumers. Only the US has a larger plastic bag footprint, using 100bn (19%) of those sold each year.
A cultural belief that food without plastic packaging lacks guaranteed food safety standards is behind much of the nation's high plastic footprint. For instance, even bananas are wrapped in plastic. This has made Japan the second greatest producer of plastic waste, generating 9m tonnes per year. Only the US accounts for more at 35m tonnes. However, Japan surpasses the US in exports of plastic, as it ships 1m tonnes abroad, while the US exports 900,000. The countries also differ in terms of recycling. Japan recycles 84% of its plastic, whereas the US only recycles 10%. Yet, recycling is not enough to avoid massive carbon emissions or water pollution from plastic particles. Thus, Japan needs to cut its plastic footprint significantly to protect the climate and the environment.
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