Waste & Recycling

Supplies of uranium, used to fire nuclear power plants, are becoming increasingly plentiful globally, threatening to make redundant Japan's long-standing policy of recycling spent nuclear fuel.

Japan and China confirmed on Monday that they will discuss restarting long-stalled talks on joint development of a gas field in the East China Sea, at the insistence of Tokyo.

China’s ban on imports of plastic waste is forcing other nations, including Japan and the United States, to scramble for new ways to deal with their trash, including exporting recyclable waste to Southeast Asia.

Nearly 70 percent of plastic sent to be recycled in Japan is burned in a method called “thermal recycling” or “heat recovery,” prompting specialists to call for a review of the system, which they say contributes to global warming.

Mitsunobu Okada openly admits that Astroscale, the Singapore-based space debris removal company he founded in 2013, was born out of a mid-life crisis."I was 39 years-old, I was wondering, what's life going to be when I'm 40?" the Japanese entrepreneur says.

A waste disposal facility in Musashino, Tokyo, is hosting a special event on selected days from December to February in which participants can watch how garbage is processed while also enjoying food and drinks.

With the population increasingly aging, the production of adult diapers has reached a record high, leading to an increase in waste. According to sources, the Environment Ministry plans to create guidelines to encourage municipalities to recycle used adult diapers from next fiscal year, hoping to reduce waste by making effective use of used diapers.

Participants in an environment forum meeting between Japan and China on Sunday discussed the issue of marine plastic pollution.The annual meeting, the 12th of its kind, brought together a total of 800 participants, mainly company and government representatives of the two countries.

Tourists have big shoes. Climate scientists and other experts suggest that the size of the footprint — carbon and otherwise — left by global travelers is about four times larger than previously thought. Sustainable tourism is a hot topic, and in light of Japan’s goals to grow the number of inbound tourists to 40 million by 2020 and all the way up to 60 million a decade later, it’s one that deserves attention. Fortunately, there are ways to ease the environmental impact of the tourism boom, and they’re not limited to planting trees to offset carbon emissions (though that’s a good place to start).

China, Japan, South Korea and ASEAN will work together to address the issue of plastic waste in the ocean, which is affecting fishery, tourism and possibly people's health.