by Pan Wen & Chun Hou

Article: https://www.tokyoreview.net/2019/07/burning-problem-japan-waste-recycling/

This article by Lauren Altria discusses recycling efforts in Japan through an interview with Ishizaka, the CEO of an environmentally friendly recycling facility. Operated by the Ishizaka Group, the facility recycles up to 98% of the waste it collects. This is just one of the many local initiatives which hopes to inculcate “green consciousness” in the population. In comparison, government efforts on the national level appear limited, with its most recent policy being the introduction of plastic bag charges.

The article looks beyond the common assumption of Japan being an inherently green nation. It points out the enduring problem of waste treatment in Japan. In comparison to other OECD countries, Japan has one of the lowest recycling rates, at approximately 20%. Restricted by the environment with a lack of space for landfills, Japan burns most waste at  “environmentally friendly” incinerators with advanced filter systems that removes harmful pollutants usually emitted during incineration. Besides adopting such technologies, the Ishizaka recycling facility also has viewing platforms and conducts educational tours that attract many visitors. As such, despite the persisting problem of waste treatment, the adoption of the environmentally friendly technologies and advocating the “green consciousness” make Japanese firms such as the Ishizaka Group appear “green”.

This article debunks the myth of Japanese having an inherent “love for nature” (Kalland and Asquith 1997, 1). It shows some of the contradictions responsible for the limited effects of Japan’s environmental policies despite the island-state’s commonly believed and self-embracing image of being a “green” nation. As the article reveals, Japan’s “reliance on burning its waste fails to put the 3Rs at the heart of its waste strategy” (para 10). While Japan is known to have stringent waste segregation requirements (Kirby 2011, 181), such an approach ultimately defeats the purpose when the majority of the waste end up being incinerated. The contradictory and non-committing approach illustrates how Japan’s policies focus on the form over substance – measures put up an active front but with little substance and lasting impact. This may be true even for the local-based initiatives mentioned in the article such as Ishizaka facility’s viewing platform and educational tours. While visiting the facility is popular, the initiative may not have sufficient influence on the daily lives of people outside of their one-time visit (para 3). As Kalland and Asquith’s have aptly put, Japan sees nature – and only the beautiful and tamed kind – more as aesthetic than a way of life (1997, 6). In this case, relevant to the Japanese concept of nature, the idea of being environmentally friendly can also be seen as a kind of aesthetic to be appreciated – as an escape from and not a way of the people’s urban life.

Japan’s heavy reliance on incineration also arguably demonstrates Kalland and Asquith’s (1997, 17) idea of “reductionism” in its environmental issues and policies. Just as how the wild and untamed elements are sidelined in the appreciation of nature, the issue of waste management is also ignored in the urban development of Japan. With the vast amount of waste generated kept unseen with “the out of sight, out of mind attitude”, incineration in facilities away from city centres allows the problem of waste management to be reduced as being largely irrelevant to the public. When being green is only a day trip to a recycling factory, the local initiatives’ attempt to develop “green consciousness” in the population remains an uphill task.

Ultimately, the issue with Japan’s waste management and other environmental policies may be the unsustainability of the reasons that drive its environmentalism. As Ishizaka admitted in the interview, Ishizaka Group’s waste management facility only took a turn because of public concerns over health implications from emissions of waste incineration. This may be reflective of Japanese attitude and reason for actions towards environmental conservation. As seen in the shifts in attitude towards industrial waste over the years, the Japanese government only adopts seemingly environmentally friendly policies when faced with criticism and pressure (Kirby 2011, 177-9). Instead of truly recognising the need to become environmentally friendly, international criticism from foreign environmentalists and local pressure due to health concerns appear to be the main forces pushing Japan towards environmentalism. While there have been some desirable outcomes, policies motivated on such grounds are likely to be superficial, as seen in the futile segregation of waste when most are still burned in the end (Kirby 2011, 187), and do not contribute to environmental conservation in the long-term. Furthermore, the problem of excess waste is perpetuated when the demand for incineration increases with Japan using burning of waste to generate electricity (Kirby 2011, 189). Thus, being green only due to criticism and pressure results in the focus of form over substance in Japan’s waste management, and environmental policies at large, and hence its limited effectiveness and sustainability.

(797 words)

References

Altria, Lauren. 2019. “The Burning Problem of Japan’s Waste Disposal.” Tokyoreview.net. https://www.tokyoreview.net/2019/07/burning-problem-japan-waste-recycling/ 

Kalland, Arne, and Pamela J. Asquith. 2020. “Japanese Perceptions Of Nature”. In Japanese Images Of Nature: Cultural Perspectives, 1-35. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press.

Kirby, Peter Wynn. 2011. “Constructing Sustainable Japan”. In Troubled Natures. Honolulu: University of Hawaiʻi Press.