Waste from other parts of Asia swamps Japan's coast

Tokyo planning to help other economies set up waste sorting and collection systems

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TOKYO – Marine waste that has drifted over from other Asian economies is causing problems in prefectures along the Sea of Japan (East Sea). Intergovernmental negotiations held in Switzerland until Aug. 15 sought to establish the world’s first treaty on preventing pollution, but ultimately failed to reach a deal, prompting concerns over delays in taking action against serious plastic pollution.

At the same time, Japan itself is one of the world’s largest generators of plastic waste and is being urged to take steps to keep the oceans clean.

Plastic containers and bottles have covered the western coastline of Tsushima in Nagasaki prefecture, about 50km from South Korea’s Busan. "No matter how many times we collect them, they keep washing ashore whenever there’s heavy rain or a typhoon," said tour guide Shoko Sakata, 45.

According to city estimates, Tsushima gets 30,000 to 40,000 cubic m of drifting garbage annually. More than half is plastic products, with 54 per cent of the plastic bottles collected in 2024 coming from China and Taiwan, and 38 per cent from South Korea.