Date : September 15, 2023
Marine Pollution from Plastic Waste—Japan’s Current Situation and Challenges (Prof. Hideshige Takada, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology)
post date : 2023.09.01
Eight million tonnes of plastic waste are released into the world’s oceans every year, and if nothing is done it is estimated that, by weight, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish by 2050. At the G7 Ministers’ Meeting on Climate, Energy and Environment in Sapporo held in April and the G7 Hiroshima Summit in May, it was agreed to “reduce additional plastic pollution to zero by 2040” and take active measures to reduce the amount of plastic waste. In Japan, the Act on Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics went into effect in April 2022, and the movement to reduce plastic waste is growing. However, according to the Sustainable Development Report, which evaluates the progress of each nation towards achieving the SDGs, Japan was rated as “major challenges remain” for SDG 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development,” and issues remain with Japan’s initiatives when compared to those of European nations.
The SDG Summit, held every four years, will be held this September, and the FPCJ has invited Prof. Hideshige Takada, a leader in microplastics research in Japan who actively speaks out in the media on the importance of creating rules about this problem via international treaties, to discuss the role Japan should play regarding this issue, the current situation, and the future outlook.
■Please note that you cannot physically attend this briefing, as it will be a Zoom webinar.
■Date: Sep 15 (Fri), 2023, 14:00-15:30 (Deadline for application: Noon, Thursday, Sep 14)
■Theme: Marine Pollution from Plastic Waste—Japan’s Current Situation and Challenges
■Briefer: Prof. Hideshige Takada, Institute of Agriculture, Division of Environmental Science on Natural Resources, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
■Language: Japanese, with consecutive English interpretation
As in our standard press briefings, there will be a Q&A session at the end.
*In principle, questions will only be accepted from members of the foreign press.
■Members of the Foreign Press:
Please send any questions for the briefer or topics you are interested in to cp@fpcjpn.or.jp by 16:00 on Sep 13
As there will only be a limited amount of time to ask questions during the briefing, we will collect questions and provide them to the briefer in advance.
Embassy representatives and FPCJ supporting members may also watch the briefing as observers (admission free).
■How to Apply: Please refer to the email we sent.*We will not be accepting applications by email.