For waste management and recycling problems, because there is a concern that the pressure of landfill sites and resource exhaustion may constrain economic activities, it is necessary to control the amount of resources extracted and reduce environmental load by promoting a recycling-based society.

To achieve this objective, it is necessary to: -introduce and enhance the concept of "Extended Producer Responsibility" that producers take certain responsibility for appropriate recycling or disposal of their products of post-consumer stage, -increase the purchase of recycled products by the National government and other entities based on Green Purchase Law to secure sufficient demand for them, -consider the use of economic instruments such as unit-based pricing,tax and charge, and deposit-refund.

For the economic instruments, local governments are considering taxes regarding waste as local discretionary earmarked taxes that were created in 2000FY.

Transition and penetration rate of the number of low-emission vehicle ownership rate

Presentation: Automobile Inspection and Registration Association, Japan Motor Vehicle Association, Japan Gas Association, Traffic Low-Emission Vehicle Promotion Organization, Oil Industry Activation Center, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, and Ministry of the Environment

Transition of industrial waste emission

Presentation: Ministry of the Environment

Examination status of tax system regarding wastes in local Governments

Tohoku North 3 prefectures (Aomori, Akita, Iwate)	Mie Prefecture	Tottori Prefecture	Fukuoka Prefecture	Kitakyushu City
Type Status	Industrial waste taxPrepare the draft during 2002 and regulated in 2003.	Industrial waste taxEnforced in April 2002	Industrial waste taxUnder examination	Industrial waste taxUnder examinationEmission enterprise (within and outside of the Prefecture)	Industrial waste taxUnder examinationFinal waste disposal enterprises and companies that treat wastes internally
Tax payer	Draft A: Emission enterpriseDraft B: Emission enterprise and intermediate processing enterprise	Industrial waste delivery agent from outside of the Prefecture	Emission enterprise (within and outside of the Prefecture)	Emission enterprise and intermediate processing enterprise (within and outside of the Prefecture)	Emission enterprise (within and outside of the Prefecture)
Charge target	Draft A: Delivery to the intermediate processing facility and landfill siteDraft B: Delivery to the landfill site	Delivery of industrial wastes to the Prefecture	Delivery to the intermediate processing facility and landfill siteThe recycling facility is exempted from the tax.	Delivery to the intermediate processing facility and landfill site within the Prefecture	Delivering to the intermediate facility and landfill siteThe tax is exempted from the delivering to the intermediate waste processing site for recycling purpose	The amount of waste in the landfill site within the city
Tax payment method	—	Payment by self-assessment	Collected by the intermediate processing enterprise and final waste disposal enterprise in conjunction with the disposal feeIntermediate processing About 100 yen/tFinal waste disposal About 1,000 yen/t	Self-assessment	Self-assessment
Tax rate	—	1,000 yen/tHowever, for intermediate processing,multiply a coefficient considering emission reduction.	About 67 million yenCost of the industrial waste appropriate processing businessand policies of the Prefecture	1,000 yen/t	1,000 yen/t
Expected tax revenue	—	About 400 million yenSupport of environmental industry and countermeasures for environmental load by industrial wastes	About 67 million yenCost of the industrial waste appropriate processing businessand policies of the Prefecture	About 1,700 million yenSupport of development promotion such as technology and industrial activities, measures for urgent issues, and support of municipalities	About 2000 million yenSupport of technology development and establishment of town that enable coexistence of waste processing and the environment and creation of a new environment industry
Main use of tax revenue	Making prior consultation obligatory and responsibility of the party	Source fund for appropriate processing promotion policy of industrial waste and the fund required for recovery to the original condition	Review about five years after enforcement of the regulation	Review five years after enforcement of the regulations
Others	duty-izing of prior consultation and responsibility to participant of pollution

Note: Being examined by 34 local government among 98 prefectures and cities with Health Centers (as of January 2002)

Presentation: Ministry of the Environment

For soil contamination problems, with the recent increase of enterprises that are engaged in contamination examination at redevelopment and sale such as factories to be redeveloped and expansion and enhancement of constant monitoring of groundwater by local Governments, soil contamination by heavy metals and volatile organic compounds that have surfaced and the number of incidents of contamination is dramatically increasing. Immediate actions for soil contamination will reduce the cost for future countermeasures and activate the economy associated with land irrigation, as well as achieve environmental conservation effects, although it imposes some economic burden to the implementers such as elimination of contamination. In addition, expansion of new businesses associated with soil contamination countermeasures is expected and deliberation is currently in progress with the submission of the "Bill for soil contamination countermeasures."