Governance and Innovation in Plastic Waste Management: The Case of Japan

Minoo Tehrani () and Yu Cui
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Minoo Tehrani: Gabelli School of Business, Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI 02809, USA
Yu Cui: Graduate School of Sociology, Kansai University, Osaka 564-8680, Japan

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: This study investigates plastic waste management, focusing on Japan. The volume of plastic waste in Japan is more than eight million tons, and less than a quarter of the plastic waste is subjected to recycling. Considering that Japan is an archipelago consisting of a combination of four large islands and numerous smaller ones, plastic waste that enters the ocean poses significant threats to marine life, birds, other living beings, and beach pollution. This research explores the underlying factors that have made Japan one of the highest users of plastic. In addition, this study evaluates different strategies that are utilized in Japan to deal with the reduction in plastic utilization and plastic waste. The final section of the study proposes strategies that can reduce utilization of plastic and production of plastic waste and the new and future outlook for replacement of plastic.

Keywords: waste management; Japan; strategies to deal with plastic waste; alternatives to using plastic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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