Fig. 1-5 Trends of imported crude oil CIF prices

Source: Ministry of Finance “Japan Trade Monthly Tables”

Fig. 1-6 Global prospects for primary energy demand

Source: IEA “World Energy Outlook 2004”

example, exports of iron and steel scrap from Japan to China were about 330,000 tons in 1995 but about 3.46 million tons in 2005, showing that in those 10 years the volume had increased more than ten-fold. In other words, movements of recyclable resources no longer terminate within our own country but have spread internationally.

Energy demand has similarly grown. With this, energy prices have also become inflated. Crude oil, for example, was traded at about 25 US dollars per barrel in 2001, but by 2006 this had risen 2.5 times to about 64 dollars per barrel (Fig. 1-5).

According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the world’s primary energy demand is expected to increase by about 50% in the period from 2003 to 2030 unless there is a major change in current policies on energy and the environment (Fig. 1-6). In particular, the proportion taken up by China and other Asian countries in 2030 is calculated to swell to 30% of the global total.

Meanwhile, vast quantities of carbon dioxide are being artificially released into the atmosphere owing to our habit of burning fossil fuels, etc., and fears have arisen that the planet is now overheating. With the advance of global warming, there are concerns that the human living environment and wildlife habitats could suffer grave consequences on a widespread scale. Cutting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions is therefore a task of global importance in connection with our promotion of 3R.

### 3. The 3R Initiative and the Role of Japanese Technologies

This aggravation of global waste problems and squeeze on resources and energy underline the importance of creating an international SMS. The Fundamental Law for Establishing a Sound Material-Cycle Society defines a “sound material-cycle society” as a society that is realized by reducing the generation of waste from products, suitably utilizing waste as resources whenever possible and appropriately disposing of waste that cannot be used in any way, thereby controlling the consumption of natural resources and reducing the environmental load. The international SMS may be seen as an extension of this definition into the global arena. The 2006 version of the SMS White Paper defines the basic concept behind establishing an international SMS in three terms, namely 1) to establish a domestic SMS in each country, 2) to enhance and reinforce activities to prevent illegal imports and exports of waste, and having achieved these, 3) to facilitate imports and exports of recyclable resources.

Japan has played a leading global role in establishing an international SMS by promoting “the 3R Initiative”. At the G8 Sea Island (USA) Summit in 2004, the former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi proposed “the 3R Initiative” to promote 3R efforts internationally, as a way of encouraging more efficient use of resources and substances. This proposal was accepted by all of the G8 leaders.

As a result, a Ministerial Conference on the 3R Initiative was held in Tokyo in April 2005, and promoting technologies suited to 3R was adopted as one of the themes for discussion. At the Conference, the participants agreed that technology had an extremely important role to play in achieving sustainable patterns of production and consumption. They also agreed that technology related to