Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
competitiveness gap with other technologies has become relatively small in this stage. In the "mature stage," various types of assistance measures should be eliminated and the situation should be left to development derived from the spontaneous demand, because it has become possible to compete with other alternative technologies and preparations have been made to disseminate such technologies on a large scale in this stage. The discussion also said that, in addition to the development stages, it is necessary to remove non-economic obstacles such as lack of relevant information and education, and to have a predictable and transparent framework for support in order to ensure the function of the market and policies.

As seen thus far, for policies aimed at green innovation, the government plays an important role; providing high-cost facility investment, incentive programs to encourage long-term investment for the technologies that take a long time for commercialization, measures to increase demand, and subsidy programs in addition to the support for research and development. So policy decisions for green innovation and methods for economical

Source: Created by the Ministry of the Environment, based on information from the OECD's "Environmental Policy Framework Conditions, Innovation and Technology Transfer"

Figure 4-1-7 Renewable Energy Market Deployment, and Necessary Environmental Policies

Source : Created by the Ministry of the Environment, based on information from the OECD's "Interim Report of the Green Growth Strategy: Implementing Our Commitment for a Sustainable Future"
# Efforts of Local Public Organizations - Solar Cars and Elementary and Junior High School Students

In order to deal with environmental problems such as global warming, it is important to promote research and development and make efforts for environmental education. Local public organizations are also making efforts forward with various efforts based on this perspective.

One of these efforts is a “Solar Car Challenge Plan” that is being conducted in Tokyo’s Koto Ward to tackle the Earth’s environmental problems through production of solar cars mainly by elementary and junior high school students. This effort is being promoted based on a “proposed project” that is part of the “Tokyo Municipal Assistance System for Promoting Global Warming Countermeasures” which was created by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in FY 2009. This project assists the proposals that are recognized as the most trailblazing and as having the highest spillover effects among all the efforts against global warming proposed by those within Tokyo’s municipalities.

Collaborative work with Shibaura Institute of Technology

Source: College of Engineering Akatsu Laboratory, Shibaura Institute of Technology

The “Solar Car Challenge Plan,” which started in 2009, is a plan that aims for participation in the Suzuka Solar Car Race in 2011. It is carried out mainly by elementary and junior high school students from within the Koto ward, and it is being promoted with cooperation of universities and private businesses. In 2009 ten seminars and training sessions were held during summer vacation, and an exhibition was held to present completed solar cars and their planning processes. In 2010, Japanese universities and private companies conducted collaborative research, went to study the world’s leading solar car that won a solar car race held in Australia, made an interim announcement of the plan, and proceeded with building car bodies. It is anticipated that such efforts by local municipalities that tie together environmental education for children and the application of science and technology will lead to a locally-based awareness and diffusion of environmental problems.

Field Trip to Study the World's Leading Solar Cars

Source: Koto Ward, Tokyo
Figure 4-2-5 Shifts in Japan’s Per-Capita Nominal GDP and Comparison with Major Countries in Asia and South America

(Sources: Data for Japan are from "Annual Report on National Accounts", Department of National Account, Economic and Social Research Institute, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. Data for other countries are from the IMF World Economic Outlook Database, October 2010.)

Figure 4-2-6 Shifts in Japan’s Volume of General Waste Generated and Recent Volumes of Municipal Solid Waste Generated in Major Countries in Asia and South America

(Sources: Data for Japan are from the Ministry of the Environment. Data for other countries are from Municipal Solid Waste Management in Asia and the Pacific Islands (2010), OECD Environmental Data Compendium 2006-2008, and China Statistical Yearbooks 1996-2007.)

America, the per-capita nominal GDP of India is equivalent to that of Japan around 1960, when Japan was entering its economic growth phase, and the per-capita nominal GDPs of China, Malaysia, and Brazil are equivalent to that of Japan around 1970, when Japan was in the middle of a high economic growth phase.

A simple comparison of waste cannot be made, because the definition of waste varies by country. Figure 4-2-6 shows shifts in volumes of municipal solid waste generated in Japan and the relationships of recent volumes of municipal solid waste generated per person in major countries in Asia and South America. Japan's volumes of municipal solid waste, which in the past increased rapidly in accordance with economic growth, has remained at an almost constant level since the 1970s as a result of measures taken for waste and recycling. On the other hand, many countries in Asia and South America have now just begun their economic growth, and although their daily volumes of municipal solid waste per capita are small, they are expected to grow rapidly from now on.

Figure 4-2-7 shows a diagram of per-capita GDP in the world’s major countries and volumes of municipal solid waste generated. As mentioned earlier, the volumes of municipal solid waste generated per capita in the world’s countries have a correlative relationship with the per-capita GDP of the respective country. Since the European countries and Japan have made relative
## (1) Expansion of Japan’s Venous Industries to Other Countries

Some companies in Japan’s venous industries have already expanded overseas. The patterns are explained below.

1) Plant design and construction by companies in venous industries

Some companies design and construct waste-treatment facilities and plants in other countries, utilizing their experiences designing and constructing waste incinerators and recycling facilities in Japan.

## I ntroduction of Waste Treatment Plants to China

In China, it is mainstream practice to dispose of municipal solid waste in landfills. Pollution of the surrounding areas and a shortage of disposal sites are posing serious problems. As a measure to deal with these problems, the Chinese government has decided to invest a total of 40 trillion yen in environmental industry as a whole. It has plans to construct at least 20 waste incinerators a year during the 12th five-year plan that starts next year, in order to eliminate waste hazards and reduce waste volume through incineration.

Against this backdrop, Company A is actively receiving orders for large stoker-type incinerators, which are commonly used for treating municipal solid waste in Tsingtao, Shanghai.

In response to an increasing need to appropriately manage and recycle waste, the relevant government authorities are giving private-sector companies permission to contract the entire process of collection, transport, remediation, and recycling of food residue from restaurants, and development of the necessary infrastructure is accelerating.

Company A has collaborated with a local company to develop a waste management operation that ranges from the collection and transport of restaurant kitchen waste to the manufacture of biogas. By providing technical support, design, and machinery to the Chinese company, Company A has managed to get its foot into the door of China’s recycling market for restaurant kitchen waste, which is said to have annual operating expenses of JPY200 billion yen.

Conceptual drawing of a completed large stoker-type waste incinerator in Shanghai

Source : JFE Engineering Corporation

## Column

# Introduction of Waste Treatment Plants in East Asia

Company B is using its experiences of receiving over 200 orders of municipal solid waste incinerator facilities in Japan to successfully obtain 8 orders for China, 5 orders for Taiwan, and 8 orders for South Korea.

It has received orders for constructing stoker-type incinerator facilities in China, and it is contracted for the design, supply of main equipment such as fire grates, and technical services such as dispatch of supervisors for installation, etc.

As part of a construction project for a waste incinerator facility (fluid-bed gasification melting furnace) for Namyangju, South Korea, Company B is contracted for the design, supply of certain equipment for the gasification melting furnace, which is the main facility, and dispatch of technical personnel for installation and test operations.

Conceptual drawing of a stoker-type waste incinerator facility in Shanghai

Source : Hitachi Zosen Corporation
2) Development of projects for the collection and recycling of resources by companies in venous industries

Some companies carry out projects for the collection and recycling of resources in other countries to meet the needs of those countries. These companies utilize the technologies and know-how for resource collection and recycling that they developed in Japan.

## Column

# Expansion of Recycling Businesses in China

In China, it has been common practice to dispose of municipal solid waste in landfills. However, municipal solid waste has increased tremendously with the growth of GDP. In order to reduce pressure on the remaining capacity of final landfill sites, some cities have started to build new incineration facilities. The Chinese branch of Company C in Dalian City, Liaoning province is working with a local company on a project to use a "Fly Ash Washing System" to remove chloride from the incineration ashes of municipal solid waste and to use the cement manufacturing process to detoxify and recycle the ashes as a raw material for cement.

A local company that manufactures and sells PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in the Uighur Autonomous Region is using calcium carbide residue, a by-product of the manufacturing process, as a raw material for making cement. The steady production process, which was negatively impacted by the chlorine contained in the by-product's residue, was drastically improved. The company is installing a "Chlorine Bypass System,"

3) Development of appropriate waste management business by companies in venous industries

Some companies carry out projects to provide proper which is expected to have the added benefit of energy efficiency.

Cement factory planning to install a fly ash washing system (Liaoning Province, China)

Source: Taiheiyo Cement Corporation

treatment of waste and hazardous materials in developing countries that have insufficient facilities for waste treatment and recycling.

## Column

# Expanding Business by Acquiring Local Corporations in Asia

Company D, which had been working on environmental and recycling projects for waste management, recycling, and soil purification in Japan and China, acquired in 2009 a company that carries out waste management and recycling projects at four places in three Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore) in order to expand its environmental and recycling operations in Asia. Thanks to that acquisition, Company D is operating Indonesia's only facility for final treatment of hazardous waste, one of Thailand's few large final treatment facilities and one of its few large incineration facilities, and a hazardous waste treatment facility in Singapore.

This venture has made it possible for Company D to provide trustworthy service equal to that in Japan to not only local companies in Southeast Asian countries but also to Japanese companies that have expanded their businesses overseas. Company D is providing total services (one-stop-shop) of waste management, soil purification, and recycling in Japan, China, and Southeast Asia.
Facility for final treatment of hazardous waste in Indonesia

Source : DOWA Eco-System Co., Ltd.

4) Business development by trading companies

Trading companies that already have broad experience in developing waste and recycling projects in Asia and

Source : DOWA Eco-System Co., Ltd.

Large-scale incinerator facility in Thailand

Source : DOWA Eco-System Co., Ltd.

have deep ties in various sectors are also making efforts.

## Column

## Expansion by Trading Companies

Company E has established a local company in the Changxing Island Seaport Industrial Area of Dalian, China to start a joint combined-type recycling/recyclable resource venture business for the recycling of iron scraps, nonferrous metal scraps, waste household electronics, and waste plastics. Since 2009, it has been holding discussions with the Liaoning government about developing the Changxing Island Seaport Industrial Area into an "eco island" founded on energy conservation and environmental protection. It is making various recommendations for water management, energy, transport, recycling, and other fields.

Company E has also established a joint venture with the world’s largest palm oil business in Malaysia to manufacture solid biomass fuel. It is constructing a plant for manufacturing solid biomass fuel “EFB pellets,” using as the raw material the residues (EFB: palm empty fruit bunches) generated from the palm oil pressing process, which have no other use. Company E will be delivering the EFB pellets to Japanese power companies.

Combined-type recycling plant in Dalian, China

Source : ITOCHU Corporation
## 5 ) 3R business development by manufacturers

Many Japanese manufacturers are building 3R systems for their own products. Manufacturers of copy machines, for example, are building 3R systems in Japan for their own copy machines. The reuse rate of parts from retired copy machines is high and almost no waste is generated from them. These manufacturers are also introducing the technologies and systems that they have developed in Japan to the Asian region and other countries.

## Collection of Products and Sales of Recycled Equipment in Asian Markets

Company F’s sales company in Thailand recognized the market needs for recycled equipment, and since 2003 it has been actively expanding a recycled copy machine business to provide the market with copy machines that it collected. Used products that have been collected are first diagnosed for the quality of their parts and their state of deterioration. They are then taken apart, cleaned, and dried, and the data on their hard drives are erased completely. In the subsequent assembly process, the deteriorated parts and consumable parts are replaced with new ones. Finally, the machines are inspected, calibrated, and completed. Upon assurance of their quality, they are ready for delivery.

Progression of a recycled copy machine project
## (2) International Framework for Supporting the Overseas Expansion of Venous Industries

It is essential to put in place legal and other systems to facilitate enforcement of collection, treatment, and recycling of waste. In general, in developing countries low priority is given to systems of waste management and the citizens also have very little interest. As a result, in some countries waste is scattered around urban areas. There is a need for collecting and transporting such waste properly, promoting the 3Rs, and developing an integrated management system for intermediate treatment and final disposal. If a partner country does not have a social system in place to enable proper collection and treatment, it will be difficult to solve waste problems by just providing technology. Therefore, Japan is providing assistance and holding policy dialogues for creating national strategies to promote the 3Rs in Asian countries (Figure 4-2-8). Japan is also hosting the “Forum on Promoting the 3Rs in Asia,” which was established in 2009 based on a proposal by Japan, promoting high-level policy dialogues on the 3Rs, sharing information, and building networks of relevant parties. In addition to encouraging countries to make the 3Rs a main policy, Japan is also supporting programs that will lead to specific projects and taking initiatives to build a sound material-cycle society in Asia.

Photograph 4-2-2 Forum on Promoting the 3Rs in Asia

Source: Ministry of the Environment information

Figure 4-2-8 International Cooperation and National Strategic Support in the Fields of the 3Rs and Waste in Asia
## Cooperation and Support between Kawasaki City and Shenyang City (China)

On June 14, 2009, Japan’s Minister of the Environment and China’s Minister of Environmental Protection exchanged a “Memorandum on Cooperation for Building Eco-Cities in Kawasaki City and Shenyang City.” The main content of the memorandum includes “collaboration in model projects for building eco-cities in Kawasaki City and Shenyang City through development of the recycling industry,” “sharing of information on policy exchanges, research, and technology about the creation of systems for the conservation and collection/recycling of resources and waste management,” and “encouragement of active participation by the academic, industrial, and private sectors.”

The Ministry of the Environment is currently cooperating with the cities of Kawasaki and Shenyang, businesses, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and others to conduct feasibility studies on the development of recycling businesses in Shenyang City. Workshops are also being held in the cities of Beijing and Shenyang to introduce Japan's eco-towns and 3R initiatives. Kawasaki City is conducting international workshops, studies on environmental needs, and research. Companies located in Kawasaki City's eco-town are making arrangements with Shenyang City and local companies to introduce plastic bottle recycling and sewage sludge treatment projects in Shenyang City. The National Institute for Environmental Studies is cooperating with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to apply to Shenyang City the "sound material-cycle economic city simulation system," which was developed using Kawasaki as a field.

Under this cooperation model undertaken by the cities of Kawasaki and Shenyang, national and local governments, private-sector companies, and research organizations are working together and Japan’s advanced waste treatment and recycling technologies are being introduced together with systems in other countries. Such efforts will contribute to global environmental conservation and the recycling of resources. The undertaking serves as a model case for building a sound material-cycle society (see figure).

## Column

## Cooperation between Ibaraki Prefecture and Tianjin City (China) for Sound Material-Cycle Cities in Japan and China

Japan’s experiences and expertise for developing eco-towns are being transferred under a framework of cooperation among local governments in Japan and China. In order to build an environment (foundation) to make it easy for Japanese companies to expand their business into China, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s
Figure 4-3-7 Number of Residences Applying for Eco-Points for Housing

times in comparison with the same months of the previous year (Figure 4-3-8). Global warming countermeasures in the private sector are an issue that the residential sector should work on, and the government can actively encourage energy-saving in terms of housing, which will create an environmental effect that contributes to the establishment of a low-carbon society, and an economic effect that will stimulate new demand in the domestic market.

### C. Eco-Action Points System

In addition to the eco-point systems discussed above, there is also a system called the Eco Action Point system, which allows participants to purchase environmental products and services or perform environmental conservation activities (eco-actions), and earn the points that they can exchange for various products (Figure 4-3-9). The eco-action points program was launched in FY 2008 as a silver bullet for the global warming countermeasures through citizen participation. In order to ensure that the program is operated in long term, the funds for eco-action points are supported by the expenditure of the program sponsor companies, not by government expenditure. Another characteristic is that a wide variety of products and services are eligible for eco-action points. In FY 2010 a nationwide framework was established so that corporations of all business types and categories could participate, promoting the program for more consumer participation and more sponsor companies and expansion of operations.

In addition to the eco-points system for home appliances, the eco action point system helped the idea of the “eco point” widely spread throughout the society in the form of economic incentives, as well as promoting the advantages of pro-environmental actions. In the future it will be important to develop a society in which all citizens will choose to engage in eco-actions.

### D. Environmental Labels

In general, environmental labels refer to a scheme to

Figure 4-3-9 Eco-Action Point Mechanism