Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
region, in particular, will hold the key to global warming initiatives in the future. Since it has a huge population and it has witnessed tremendous economic growth in recent years, Asia will be the region with the highest carbon dioxide emissions. Within the Asian region, local environmental issues such as air pollution, which accompanies economic development, and cross-border issues, such as acid rain, are becoming serious. All countries concerned must cooperate in tackling and overcoming these problems.

## (1) Economic Growth and GHG Emissions in China and India

Today, countries in Asia are experiencing continuous and rapid economic growth that is unprecedented in the world (Figure 3-3-1).

Against this backdrop of economic growth that continues at a high level, energy consumption is also increasing rapidly. Primary energy consumption in the Asian region was 13.7% of the world’s total in 1971 but it rose to 31.1% in 2005. Carbon dioxide emissions are no exception. They increased from 15.1% of the world’s total in 1971 to 35.8% in 2005.

Within the Asian region, economic growth in China and India is especially remarkable. Since 1979, China's average real GDP growth rate was about 9.7%; and since 2003, over 10% for five consecutive years. India has also taken up economic reform since 1991. It had an average annual growth of 6% in the 1990s and realized a GDP growth rate of 9.4% in FY 2006. In terms of primary energy consumption, China was No. 2 (14.5%) in the world in 2005, following the United States and India was No. 5 (3.7%), following Japan. In terms of carbon dioxide emissions, China was already the largest emitter in Asia and was No. 2 (19.0%) in the world, following the United States (22.0%). India has also seen a steady increase in emissions since the 1970s, reaching the same level as Japan (Figure 3-3-2).

In terms of per-capita energy consumption as of 2005, compared to the 7.9 TOE of the United States and 4.2 TOE of Japan, it was still low at 1.1 TOE in China and at 0.3 TOE in India. This means that the energy consumption of both countries is likely to continue to rise in tandem with their economic growth. Consequently, the carbon dioxide emissions will also increase.

The “World Energy Outlook 2007,” published by IEA in 2007, predicted that the primary energy demand would increase 55% (annual average of 1.8%) between 2005 and 2030 and that China and India would account for 45% of that increase. It pointed out that China’s primary energy

Figure 3-3-1 Changes in World Economic Growth by Region

Note: ASEAN-4 includes Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines

Source: Compiled by the Ministry of the Environment from the data of IMF, World Economic Outlook Database (October 2007)
## Overview 2

The World Has Reached a Turning Point in the Creation of a Sound Material-Cycle Society, and Japan’s Efforts
comprehensive promotion of a low-carbon society, a society in harmony with nature and a sound material-cycle society. (For example, Edo possessed a safe and sanitary night soil recycling system in which night soil stored in night soil reservoirs was carried to villages around the Musashi no Kuni region in order to be bartered for farmers' agricultural produce.)

Chapter 3 focuses on the establishment of Spheres of SMCs. In recent years, efforts have been made towards establishing a SMC Society by means of various levels of SMC blocks. This chapter describes and examines the concept of SMC blocks, as spelled out in the Second Fundamental Plan for Establishing a SMC Society, and discusses issues from the perspective of the integrated establishment of a low-carbon society, a society in harmony with nature and a SMC Society. By citing specific examples, this chapter illustrates how collaborations among different entities play a critical role in establishing successful SMC blocks.

Chapter 4 examines the prospects for establishing a SMC Society in East Asia, involving Japan’s cooperation. This chapter describes how active Japan is in promoting the establishment of a SMC Society with not only East Asia but also the entire international society. Japan has an important role to play in creating a SMC Society in East Asia. Specifically, Japan should understand the detailed needs of East Asian countries, consider country-specific situations, such as the status of economic infrastructure, and determine which of its technologies, systems and experiences are suitable for each country before transferring them in a manner that ensures the protection of intellectual property rights. By highlighting past cooperation results and future prospects, this chapter also outlines Japan’s efforts to transfer such technologies and systems in a well-planned manner.
Figure 4-1-1 Future Prospects of World Waste Generation [2000-2050]

Source : A paper written by Prof. Tanaka of Okayama University

Figure 4-1-2 Per capita daily municipal solid waste generation in OECD countries (2005)

Source: Created by the Ministry of the Environment, based on OECD data

Such increases in the international movement of CRs, especially those from developed countries to developing ones, can be attributed to the following factors: (i) recycling laws enacted in developed countries have helped increase the amount of CRs recovered, establishing new supply sources for CRs; (ii) as many companies in developed countries have moved their production to developing countries in Asia and other regions, developing countries are finding that the amounts of CRs collected domestically are too great for them to use by themselves; (iii) as a result of economic growth in importing countries, demand for resources has increased so much that the amounts of CRs generated within the country are no longer large enough to meet demand $ ^{1} $ .

Such transboundary movements of CRs can, as long as they are environmentally sound, enable resources to be reused and recycled more efficiently and inexpensively. They can also foster the development and growth of the recycling industry and can therefore contribute to not only

Figure 4-1-3 OECD Country municipal waste generation (1980-2030)

Source: Prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, based on OECD data

Figure 4-1-4 CR prices and exports

Note: The scrap iron (scrap steel) prices are H2 scrap cash prices (including delivery) for every December.

Source: Japan Iron and Steel Recycling Institute

Source: Ministry of the Environment
employment creation but also the establishment of a sustainable society in developing countries.

On the other hand, there are several important challenges associated with the transboundary movement of CRs. One of these challenges is that an outflow of resources from a country (in the form of exports of CRs, based on market principles) can lead to a slowdown or a hollowing out of the domestic recycling industry. Some point out that this may hinder Japan’s ability to steadily maintain and strengthen its waste management and recycling structures that have been built up over the years. In addition, it is known that some CR importing countries have yet to fully establish a mechanism for responsible waste management and are therefore posing a risk of environmental pollution. Another consideration is that imports of secondhand products and recycled products can be regarded as transboundary movements of potential wastes because these products can turn into wastes after a short time of use, offsetting their availability at low prices in the importing countries and the fact that this allows effective use to be made of resources. Initiatives to establish an international SMC Society should take account of disadvantages such as these (Figure4-1-5).

## (2) Efforts by the international community and Japan

Japan faced serious waste management problems in the 1990s, such as a shortage of final disposal sites and large-scale illegal dumping cases, all of which raised concerns about environmental pollution. However, radical policy reforms implemented in the early stages of these problems allowed Japan to become a world leader in the establishment of a SMC Society by the early 21st century.

Based on such experience, at the G8 Sea Island Summit in 2004, Japan proposed the “3R Initiative,” aimed at internationally promoting the establishment of a SMC Society through 3R activities. The 3Rs refer to restraining generation (Reduce), reuse (Re-use) and regeneration (Recycle), and represent the concept of balancing environmental conservation and economic growth through the effective use of resources. The G8 leaders endorsed this proposal and adopted it as the G8’s new initiative, which led to the announcement of the “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development: ‘3R’ Action Plan and Progress on Implementation.”

Following on from this, the Ministerial Conference on the 3R Initiative was held in Tokyo in April 2005 to officially launch the 3R Initiative. On this occasion, Japan

Figure 4-1-5 Global resource extraction, by region and type of resource (1980, 2002, 2020) $ ^{*} $ BRICCS (Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China, and South Africa)

(the rate of Increase from 1980 to 2020 based on the OECD forecast)

Source: Prepared by the Ministry of the Environment, based on OECD data
Figure 4-1-10 Outline of the establishment of a worldwide Sound Material-Cycle Society

Source : Ministry of the Environment

semination of Japan’s systems, technologies and experience related to 3R promotion to the international community and the implementation of measures to ensure correct resource circulation in East Asia, from an international viewpoint.

The Second Fundamental Plan, which was formulated in line with the above guidelines, sets out the basic direction of the national efforts. Since the natural material cycle, and the material cycles in socioeconomic systems that are part of it, are inseparable, the government will need to take both into account in order to ensure an environmentally sound water cycle and foster the appropriate cycling of nitrogen and other materials in nature. The plan’s details are described below (Figures4-1-7, 4-1-8, 4-1-9, 4-1-10).

Pursuant to this Second Fundamental Plan, the government will comprehensively implement various other related measures.

## (2) Indicators and numerical targets for establishing a SMC Society

To quantitatively evaluate progress in the development of a SMC Society, the Second Fundamental Plan defines material flow indicators and effort indices.

Effort indices are used to measure the progress of measures and initiatives being implemented by different entities to assist the establishment of a SMC Society.

## A Material flow indicators

Intensive discussions were held in order to define material flow indicators during the 10 meetings of the Material Flow Study Group (chaired by Dr. Itaru Yasui, former vice-rector of the United Nations University), from June 2006 to January 2008. In addition, the government and the OECD jointly hosted an international seminar on material flows and resource productivity, at which the general chair was Dr. Yuichi Moriguchi from the Research Center for SMC and Waste Management, the National Institute for Environmental Studies. The aim of this seminar was to bring together experts in indicators and statistics from OECD member states, China, India and Russia. The indicators were improved and enhanced by means of these processes, based on cutting-edge knowledge from Japan and abroad.

When establishing a SMC Society, it is essential to know what kinds of waste are generated where, and in what quantity. The accurate acquisition of this information allows the causes of waste generation to be identified and facilitates both restraining generation and the cyclical use of waste.

Such information is not only applicable to the waste generation process but is also useful for promoting the efficient
use of the total material input to a society. Japan should, therefore, first clarify its nationwide material flows. This will then be of great help in future policymaking.

The government has created a diagrammatic illustration of material flows (Material Flow Chart) by calculating the material flows that encompass all movements of materials in an economic society and then collecting data that show how much resources were input into the Japanese economic society, how much were reserved in society, consumed as energy, or turned into waste, and how much of the generated waste was recycled or disposed of in final disposal sites (Figure4-1-11).

The Second Fundamental Plan sets targets for three indicators -- resource productivity, the cyclical use rate, and the final disposal amount -- referring to the “inlet,” “cycle,” and “outlet” aspects of Japan’s nationwide material flow, respectively. These targets are to be pursued through the joint efforts of the government and other concerned parties. The target year for the Second Fundamental Plan is FY 2015, envisaging a society even farther ahead, in FY 2025.

The target for the inlet has been set by resource productivity: approximately ¥420,000 per ton in FY 2015. This indicator is designed to comprehensively measure how effectively industries and people are using products. Since natural resources are exhaustible, generate environmental burdens associated with extraction, and eventually turn into wastes, this indicator should be increased so that adequate gross domestic product (GDP) can efficiently be achieved from smaller inputs of resources. The target figure is double the rate in FY 1990 (approximately ¥210,000 per ton) and roughly 60% higher than the rate in FY 2000 (approximately ¥260,000 per ton) (Figure4-1-12).

The target for the cycle has been set by the cyclical use rate: approximately 14-15% in FY 2015. In principle, this indicator should be increased so that appropriate cyclical use can be expanded in order to reduce the amount of final disposal. The target figure is about 80% higher than the rate in FY 1990 (approximately 8%) and about 40-50% higher than the rate in FY 2000 (approximately 10%). Note that the total input in an economic society is the sum of the natural resources input and the amount of cyclical use (Figure4-1-13).

The target for the outlet has been set by the final disposal amount: approximately 23 million tons in FY 2015. The final disposal amount is an indicator that is directly linked to the urgent problem of a shortage of final disposal sites. Being expressed as the sum of the final disposal amount of municipal solid waste and industrial waste, this indicator should be reduced. The target figure is about 80% lower than the amount in FY 1990 (approximately 110 million tons) and about 60% lower than the amount in

Figure 4-1-11 Material flow in Japan (FY 2005)

(Note) Including water: Input of water included in waste and the like (sludge, animal manure, human waste, waste acid, waste alkali) and sediment and the like associated with economic activities (sludge from mining, building and water works and tailing from mining) Source : Ministry of the Environment
lages, contributing to both the farmers’ economic self-reliance and to urban development. This was a good example of a virtuous circle for both the economy and the environment.

## B SMC blocks, as demonstrated by the use of night soil as a fertilizer for rice and vegetable cultivation

Since rice production capacity was the key to political power in the Edo era, the shogunate government and domain governments considered the implementation of measures to develop new fields and improve rice production capacity a high-priority policy.

As a result, the cultivated area for rice increased from about 1.6 million hectares in the Keicho period (1596-1614) to about 3 million hectares in the Kyoho period (1716-1735). This means that an 80% increase in production area was achieved in about a century. Over the same period, the accumulation of experience and new technologies also contributed to improvements in rice productivity. For example, Nogyo Zensho (Encyclopedia of Agriculture, Yasusada Miyazaki, 1696), a leading agricultural book in the Edo era, includes descriptions of advances in fertilizer research: "There is an urgent need to put night soil on infertile land. Farmers must build a shack to store night soil. This should be used to store everything from rotten food to kitchen wastewater and bathing wastewater, and to fully ferment them for use as fertilizer. Cattle and horse feces should be stored in layers. Pile them up if you have too much. There are many kinds of fertilizers. Good fertilizers can be made by mixing night soil with oilcake, dried sardines and residues from whale processing." Other technologies developed in this era included the use of water wheels to pump irrigation water and sluices and dikes for stream management.

Such advances in agriculture were, in fact, closely related to the issue of how to secure adequate amounts of fertilizer for use on the fields. One solution to this was allowing large amounts of night soil and ash, generated in urban areas, to be effectively used in surrounding farm villages as fertilizer. As mentioned earlier, during the Edo era, a material cycle existed so that farmers could obtain the valuable urban night soil and ash, spread it on their fields as fertilizer, then grow rice and vegetables which provided food for the people in the city of Edo. Urban communities promoted a material cycle in which both they and the rural villages each played their respective roles.

Figure 4-2-1 Night soil use

Source: Created by the Ministry of the Environment, based on "KEISUKE NOMURA [Edo vegetables ~to seek a disappeared Mikawashima greens]."
roles and maintained relatively high sanitary levels as a result. Night soil (human waste) was even a source of financial gain for urban citizens (Figure4-2-1).

Night soil remained a valuable organic resource throughout the Edo era. Night soil produced in the city of Edo, a megalopolis with an estimated population of 1 million, was transported to suburban farms and stored in special night soil reservoirs. These night soil reservoirs made use of the heat generated by fermentation to sanitize the night soil and produce good quality manure which was then used for suburban vegetable farming.

Toilets in the Edo era (called koka in Edo and secchin in the Kamigata region, including Kyoto and Osaka) were usually shared between several families in cities, where terrace houses called nagaya were common. Toilets were designed so that night soil could be easily collected from them.

To ensure an adequate supply of night soil for manure production, farmers in the suburbs of Edo contracted with the owners of samurai residences and nagaya houses in order to obtain the rights to collect night soil in exchange for money or goods. In the mid-Edo era, brokerage groups emerged to arrange night soil trading between urban citizens and farmers, boosting night soil use. The late Edo era even saw instances of farmers in Tokyo suburbs facing serious financial difficulties due to increasing night soil prices, and petitioning the shogunate government. This shows just how important the use of urban night soil for fertilizer production was for farmers.

Large amounts of ash were also produced during the Edo period because people used wood for cooking. This ash was also used as fertilizer by local farmers. Urban citizens accumulated their domestic ash, which was then collected by ash brokers who sold it on to farmers for use as fertilizer. Although ash had many other uses, it is a good example of CRs that were circulated between cities and rural villages.

[Cooking stoves in Edo]

Source: Ehon Edo Murasaki (Illustrated Book ‘Edo Violet’)

Figure 4-2-2 Edo vegetable-producing districts
office issued an official town notice banning the dumping of waste in kaisho-chi in 1649 and designated a place named Fukagawa Eitaiura as a dumpsite in 1655. In 1662, disposal companies were designated, leading to the establishment of a mechanism in which wastes were gathered in designated places ready for disposal by these disposal companies. As a result of these efforts, the three key processes involved in waste management, namely collection, transport and disposal, were all successfully organized in Edo.

Policies such as these were adapted to people’s real lives at the time they were implemented. The town magistrate sometimes even consulted members of the public over the acceptability of an ordinance before issuing it. Edo citizens are said to have been very good at integrating government ordinances into their daily lives. This sort of “community wisdom” probably contributed to Edo’s success in establishing an effective waste disposal system at such an early date.

There were also many ordinances banning the dumping of waste in non-designated areas. By about 1699, ordinances were in place that banned the dumping of waste in rivers

Figure 4-2-3 Major landfill sites in the Edo

Note: Locations are only approximate.

Name	Current place name	Landfill period	Size of landfill	Notes
Start	End
Fukagawa Eitaiura	Around Tomioka, Fuyuki and Kiba, Koto Ward	Nov. 25, 1655	1724	Became the property of the shogunate in Dec. 1733.
Eitai Shinden (Eitaijima Shinden)	Around Ishijima and Sengoku, Koto Ward	Jun. 30, 1681	July 1730
Sunamura Shinden	Around Minamisuna, Koto Ward	Jun. 30, 1681	495,900 m²
Senda Shinden (Juman-tsubo Tsukiji)	Around Senda, Sengoku and Kaihin, Koto Ward	1704	1711	330,600 m²	Became the property of the shogunate in Dec. 1733.
Ishioda Shinden (Rokuman-tsubo Tsukiji)	Around Toyo, Koto Ward	1725	198,360 m²	Same as above
Hirai Shinden	Around Toyo and Minamisuna, Koto Ward
Fukagawa Ecchujima	Around Ecchujima, Botan and Furuishiba, Koto Ward	1730	495,900 m²

Source: Created by Ministry of the Environment, based on “Tokyo Seiso Jigyo Hyakunen Shi”