10 Japanese Law and Policy on Marine Environment Protection …
191
the ocean, by weight, by 2050’.
76 In the same year, the United Nations Open-ended
Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea dealt with the issue
of ‘(m)arine debris, plastics, and microplastics’.
77 Its adoption by the UN’s General
Assembly demonstrates that many Member States of the UN have an interest in the
marine litter issue. Furthermore, at the G7 Summit at Charlevoix in 2018, the Ocean
Plastic Charter was adopted. In this Charter, concrete goals, such as ‘to recycle and
reuse at least 55% of plastic packaging by 2030 and recover 100% of all plastics by
2040’, are provided. This Charter is not legally binding, but it is regarded as a politically important document. At the Summit, while Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
the U.K., and the EU decided to participate, the United States and Japan did not.
78
Although Japan was criticised both internationally and domestically, the government officially stated that the government could not sign the Charter at the Summit,
because it is essential for the government to ascertain the impact of the Charter on the
lives and economics of Japanese nationals.
79 Therefore, Japan’s non-participation in
the Charter might not necessarily mean that it is not motivated to tackle the issue
of marine litter. Besides, after the G7 Toyama Environment Ministers Meeting in
2016,
80 the Japanese government, especially the MOE, introduced an initiative to
tackle this problem.
81
Japan has two basic acts that are related to the regulation of marine litter. The first
is the 1993 Basic Environment Act and the second is the 2007 Basic Act on Ocean
Policy. However, neither of these include specific regulations on marine litter. Under
the Act on Ocean Policy, the Basic Plan on Ocean Policy is adopted every five years.
So far, three basic plans have been adopted in 2008, 2013, and 2018. However, the
first two plans focus on marine litter that is drifting or washed ashore and does not
include marine litter in general.
82 As the second plan was adopted two years after
76 World Economic Forum, The New Plastics Economy Rethinking the Future of Plastics, (2016),
p.14.
77 Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, ‘United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea Seventeenth Meeting’, (13–17 June 2016) available at https://www.un.org/depts/los/consultative_process/documents/ICP-17_Panel_for_website.
pdf (last visited 21 May 2019).
78 As for the Ocean Plastics Charter, see Government of Canada, ‘Ocean Plastics Charter’, available at https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/
international-commitments/ocean-plastics-charter.html (last visited 21 May 2019).
79 ‘Answers to the Questions on the Ocean Plastic Charter Submitted by House of Representative Member, Akihiro Hatsushika’, available at http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_shitsumon_
pdf_t.nsf/html/shitsumon/pdfT/b196386.pdf/$File/b196386.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019) (in
Japanese).
80 MOE, ‘G7 Toyama Environment Ministers Meeting’, available at https://www.env.go.jp/earth/
g7toyama_emm/english/ (last visited 21 May 2019).
81 Japan seems to consider that the marine litter issues should be solved by various measures which
are the most appropriate for the States taking such measures. The Heavy and Chemical Industries
News Agency, The Way to Solve the Issue of Marin Plastic Litter: Proposal of the Japanese Model,
(2019) (in Japanese).
82 Basic Plan on Ocean Policy, (March 2008), p. 51, available at https://www8.cao.go.jp/ocean/eng
lish/plan/pdf/plan01_e.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019); The Second Basic Plan on Ocean Policy (the
191
the ocean, by weight, by 2050’.
76 In the same year, the United Nations Open-ended
Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea dealt with the issue
of ‘(m)arine debris, plastics, and microplastics’.
77 Its adoption by the UN’s General
Assembly demonstrates that many Member States of the UN have an interest in the
marine litter issue. Furthermore, at the G7 Summit at Charlevoix in 2018, the Ocean
Plastic Charter was adopted. In this Charter, concrete goals, such as ‘to recycle and
reuse at least 55% of plastic packaging by 2030 and recover 100% of all plastics by
2040’, are provided. This Charter is not legally binding, but it is regarded as a politically important document. At the Summit, while Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
the U.K., and the EU decided to participate, the United States and Japan did not.
78
Although Japan was criticised both internationally and domestically, the government officially stated that the government could not sign the Charter at the Summit,
because it is essential for the government to ascertain the impact of the Charter on the
lives and economics of Japanese nationals.
79 Therefore, Japan’s non-participation in
the Charter might not necessarily mean that it is not motivated to tackle the issue
of marine litter. Besides, after the G7 Toyama Environment Ministers Meeting in
2016,
80 the Japanese government, especially the MOE, introduced an initiative to
tackle this problem.
81
Japan has two basic acts that are related to the regulation of marine litter. The first
is the 1993 Basic Environment Act and the second is the 2007 Basic Act on Ocean
Policy. However, neither of these include specific regulations on marine litter. Under
the Act on Ocean Policy, the Basic Plan on Ocean Policy is adopted every five years.
So far, three basic plans have been adopted in 2008, 2013, and 2018. However, the
first two plans focus on marine litter that is drifting or washed ashore and does not
include marine litter in general.
82 As the second plan was adopted two years after
76 World Economic Forum, The New Plastics Economy Rethinking the Future of Plastics, (2016),
p.14.
77 Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, ‘United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea Seventeenth Meeting’, (13–17 June 2016) available at https://www.un.org/depts/los/consultative_process/documents/ICP-17_Panel_for_website.
pdf (last visited 21 May 2019).
78 As for the Ocean Plastics Charter, see Government of Canada, ‘Ocean Plastics Charter’, available at https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/managing-reducing-waste/
international-commitments/ocean-plastics-charter.html (last visited 21 May 2019).
79 ‘Answers to the Questions on the Ocean Plastic Charter Submitted by House of Representative Member, Akihiro Hatsushika’, available at http://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_shitsumon_
pdf_t.nsf/html/shitsumon/pdfT/b196386.pdf/$File/b196386.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019) (in
Japanese).
80 MOE, ‘G7 Toyama Environment Ministers Meeting’, available at https://www.env.go.jp/earth/
g7toyama_emm/english/ (last visited 21 May 2019).
81 Japan seems to consider that the marine litter issues should be solved by various measures which
are the most appropriate for the States taking such measures. The Heavy and Chemical Industries
News Agency, The Way to Solve the Issue of Marin Plastic Litter: Proposal of the Japanese Model,
(2019) (in Japanese).
82 Basic Plan on Ocean Policy, (March 2008), p. 51, available at https://www8.cao.go.jp/ocean/eng
lish/plan/pdf/plan01_e.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019); The Second Basic Plan on Ocean Policy (the