Japan's environmental dilemma.

The burning of plastic is sometimes a problem here too.  There is little in the way of programs to recycle bailing twine or the big white plastic bags that hold the silage.  I think that a combination of education and recycling facilities would help our farmers a great deal.

Great piece. It seems like Japan has a similarity to other countries and their environmental efforts - it is mostly a facade and while it all appears to be good; it's really not.

this may sound silly ,  anyway when i was a kid , i could get around 5p for returning a pop bottle back to the shop ,,,   subsiquently both myself and all my amegoes would go far and wide colecting pop bottles ,even in the small river near our den ,,,   so wy dont they have something similar for the plastic , and if they do it right  the kids would sort it all out ,,,,,,,,,   i dont advocate child labour ,,,,   but kids learning and having fun ,and doing some good and earning some pocket money is cool  ...   so imagin if their was a return price on the plastic .   and imagin being a kid ,   , , a cheaky kid ,, a good kid , ,, so are you going to stand by and watch as your adult nabours bur the plastic  ,  mmmm    grassing em up is wrong , burning it is wrong ,, but nickin the lot from em and colecting the monny from them .. , i could go on and on with the sanario but the point is this . if a similar idea is taken up . .    ,, as long as it dosnt turn man against man it cant be bad ....  and with some realy clever people in power over their your bound to come up with the answers , i wish you luck   ..........

photo taken in Osaka. not teh cleanest japanese city, but overall, japan is pretty clean, for sure when you compare it to other asian countries.

okiokinl has contributed a photo to this story.

Good article.,

Well done. Good luck.

TheJbot has contributed a photo to this story.

The buraucrats replaced the sword by a pen. Not only valid for Japan. But already the japanese Miti innovation bureaucrats missed all great inventions. Thanks for Japan report

It's amazing in a megalopolis like Tokyo that it's not MORE smoggy (like Hong Kong). I think it's a testament to Japan's environmental ethos that things aren't as bad as they could be. Still in this age of prevalent combustion engines and trash burning, the smog in Tokyo can be quite bad sometimes. On hot and hazy summer days, people with asthma can have serious problems (I lived with a host family whose son was asthmatic... days like this --photographed-- in Japan, the kid was in a lot of pain.)

varmazis has contributed a photo to this story.

Well done. I think most parts of Asia are facing some sort of environmental issues as well as lack of implementation of laws in this regard.

Pic was taken near my house in Yokohama on a clear sunny afternoon.

Wonderful article. One thing should be noted though, "One of the main problems this day that people complain about is the burning of plastic." & "In Cities this is mostly under control and does not happen any longer, since garbage has to be separated and is being collected weekly"

While this is true, a friend who lives in Tokyo Ward told me that, just last month, he was notified that they should put plastic WITH burnable trash from now on. This is because "burnable" trash goes in a incinerator which doubles as a power plant. This is common practice throughout Japan. In Yokohama, my area anyway, we still seperate our trash between burnable and "plastics." But, in an "advanced urban area" like Tokyo it seems they've taken a step back in terms of policy.

japan does make an effort, i think. the seperating of garbage everywhere is a god example yea. 

i travelled to taiwan after japan, and the difference was huge, taiwan is seriously polluted, sadly.. japans cities have exellent train systems, which helps a lot i think. in taiwan, the second largest city hardly even has a bus system, everybody drives scooter bikes. sometimes it was hard to breath... 

yet the near size of japan and its populaiton density, means that theres still lots of pollution. lets hope teh authorities will continue to work on it.

It's a good article with thoughtful views.  

I would be interested to know how Japanese seafood industry balances between preservation of fisheries and a high demand of seafood consumption in Japan? It's a concern that Japanese whaling hunt remains an annual outing off the coast of Antarctica. 

This picture was taken in Ishikawa. It was enlarged and cropped to focus on the farmer. Outside the frame, in the background, is the Sea of Japan. The picture was taken at the side of a relatively busy highway. So the rice paddy is exposed to car exhaust. Along the highway are businesses. Ishikawa is rather rural but the urban areas are creeping in, just as they have in the larger Japanese cities. You can often see a rice paddy in the middle of an urban area, including residential and commercial areas.

mick62 has contributed a photo to this story.

Thanks Uwe for this great article. Thanks too to the people who added photos to the story. The photos really add to the story. I think though that I need to clarify something about the photos of Japanese wearing surgical masks. I think it's highly unlikely that these people are wearing the masks to protect themselves from pollution. Japanese wear these masks as a courtesy to others when they have a cold. Some who have pollen allergies wear the masks in spring. I have never met a Japanese who wore a mask to protect themselves from air pollution. I think that point needs to be made. The photos as they are now give the false impression that Japan is so polluted that Japanese must wera masks in order to cope. I have lived in Japan for nearly 12 years and I have never worn a mask. I live in Tokyo and the air quality is much better than other places I've been.

Having said all that, I very glad that Uwe has shed light on the issue and I learned a few things I didn't know before.

Cheers!

Great work, Paschen!  Once people start discarding things so easily it is difficult to get them to act more responsibly!

Good Story!  And scary indeed!

This photo was taken during one of the routine trips I made in a US Army UH-60A Blackhawk, between Zama and Yokohama, while I was stationed in Japan.

clownhunter69 has contributed a photo to this story.

I took this photo while passing through Harajuku in March 2007.

Donnoir has contributed a photo to this story.

Japan's dilemma is an issue in most modernized countries.  The cities do not allow burning of trash but it is still allowed in the country and small towns.  Thus creating pollution that blows into the city, adding to the automobile and factory pollution.  The inspectors should do their jobs in a "garbage truck" and collect the plastic from the farmers and people and reward them for their donation. Education is the key to successful change.