192
M. Seta
the Great East Japan Earthquake, specific attention was given to disaster control and
environmental measures.
83
Unlike these two former plans, the third Basic Ocean Policy, which was adopted
in 2018, refers to the marine litter issue as a main marine environmental concern.
84
According to this policy, to tackle the marine litter issue, Japan ‘comprehensively
promote the implementation of understanding of the situation, measurements of
recovery and curbing the generation of litter with participation and collaboration
of various entities, aiming at reducing maritime litter including microplastics which
have been unexpected and hard of substantial recovery (emphasis added).’
85 Moreover, the plan also indicates that Japan would contribute to reducing the discharge of
marine litter in the Asian region,
86 and this is probably because most debris derives
from countries in Asia and the debris is then swept into Japanese waters.
87
As for municipal legislation, the ‘Act on Promoting the Treatment of Litters
Washed Ashore Affecting the Conservation of Good Coastal Landscapes and Environments to Protect Beautiful and Varied Nature (the Litters Washed Ashore Act)’
was adopted in 2009.
88 As UNEP translated this Act as ‘the Law for the Promotion of Marine Litter Disposal’,
89 this law might internationally be regarded as
comprehensively tackling marine litter disposal. However, this translation is somewhat misleading. In this Act, ‘Litters Washed Ashore’ is defined in Article 2, and the
purpose of this Act is not to regulate marine litter comprehensively but to conserve
the natural beauty of the coastal landscape and environment. Therefore, its contribution to the prevention of the generation of marine litter is limited. However, given the
fact that plastic debris derives from trash on the shores of coastal areas, cleaning up
coastal areas contributes to the reduction of the generation of marine litter to some
extent. Moreover, the system established by the Act is useful for combating the marine
litter issue. Article 7 of the Act emphasises the importance of cooperation among
central and local governments, private actors, and industries. In addition, Article 8
highlights international collaboration to solve the issue of ‘Litters Washed Ashore.’
Second Plan), (April 2013), p. 46, available at https://www8.cao.go.jp/ocean/english/plan/pdf/pla
n02_e.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019) (in Japanese).
83 The Second Plan, ibid., p. 8.
84 The Third Basic Plan on Ocean Policy (the Third Plan), (May 2018), p. 5, available at https://
www8.cao.go.jp/ocean/english/plan/pdf/plan03_e.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019).
85 Ibid., p.78.
86 Ibid., p. 79.
87 Jenna R. Jambeck, Roland Geyer, Chris Wilcox, Theodore R. Siegler, Miriam Perryman, Anthony
Andrady, Ramani Narayan, and Kara Lavender Law, ‘Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the
Ocean’, Science, Vol. 347, Issue 6223 (2015), pp. 768–769.
88 The translation by the author relies on the translation by Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Justice,
‘Basic Policy on the Comprehensive and Effective Promotion of Measures Against Articles that
Drift Ashore’, available at http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/common/data/notice/0162903.
html (last visited 21 May 2019).
89 The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) for the UNEP, Marine Litter Legislation: A Toolkit for
Policymakers, (2016), p. 13.
M. Seta
the Great East Japan Earthquake, specific attention was given to disaster control and
environmental measures.
83
Unlike these two former plans, the third Basic Ocean Policy, which was adopted
in 2018, refers to the marine litter issue as a main marine environmental concern.
84
According to this policy, to tackle the marine litter issue, Japan ‘comprehensively
promote the implementation of understanding of the situation, measurements of
recovery and curbing the generation of litter with participation and collaboration
of various entities, aiming at reducing maritime litter including microplastics which
have been unexpected and hard of substantial recovery (emphasis added).’
85 Moreover, the plan also indicates that Japan would contribute to reducing the discharge of
marine litter in the Asian region,
86 and this is probably because most debris derives
from countries in Asia and the debris is then swept into Japanese waters.
87
As for municipal legislation, the ‘Act on Promoting the Treatment of Litters
Washed Ashore Affecting the Conservation of Good Coastal Landscapes and Environments to Protect Beautiful and Varied Nature (the Litters Washed Ashore Act)’
was adopted in 2009.
88 As UNEP translated this Act as ‘the Law for the Promotion of Marine Litter Disposal’,
89 this law might internationally be regarded as
comprehensively tackling marine litter disposal. However, this translation is somewhat misleading. In this Act, ‘Litters Washed Ashore’ is defined in Article 2, and the
purpose of this Act is not to regulate marine litter comprehensively but to conserve
the natural beauty of the coastal landscape and environment. Therefore, its contribution to the prevention of the generation of marine litter is limited. However, given the
fact that plastic debris derives from trash on the shores of coastal areas, cleaning up
coastal areas contributes to the reduction of the generation of marine litter to some
extent. Moreover, the system established by the Act is useful for combating the marine
litter issue. Article 7 of the Act emphasises the importance of cooperation among
central and local governments, private actors, and industries. In addition, Article 8
highlights international collaboration to solve the issue of ‘Litters Washed Ashore.’
Second Plan), (April 2013), p. 46, available at https://www8.cao.go.jp/ocean/english/plan/pdf/pla
n02_e.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019) (in Japanese).
83 The Second Plan, ibid., p. 8.
84 The Third Basic Plan on Ocean Policy (the Third Plan), (May 2018), p. 5, available at https://
www8.cao.go.jp/ocean/english/plan/pdf/plan03_e.pdf (last visited 21 May 2019).
85 Ibid., p.78.
86 Ibid., p. 79.
87 Jenna R. Jambeck, Roland Geyer, Chris Wilcox, Theodore R. Siegler, Miriam Perryman, Anthony
Andrady, Ramani Narayan, and Kara Lavender Law, ‘Plastic Waste Inputs from Land into the
Ocean’, Science, Vol. 347, Issue 6223 (2015), pp. 768–769.
88 The translation by the author relies on the translation by Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Justice,
‘Basic Policy on the Comprehensive and Effective Promotion of Measures Against Articles that
Drift Ashore’, available at http://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/common/data/notice/0162903.
html (last visited 21 May 2019).
89 The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) for the UNEP, Marine Litter Legislation: A Toolkit for
Policymakers, (2016), p. 13.