Retailers to charge for plastic bags

Tokyo (1st Nov, 2019): Japanese retailers including supermarkets and convenience stores will be required to charge for plastic bags from next summer.

The big move brings Japan in line with many other countries that have already adopted the environmentally friendly measure, but it will only come into effect in July 2020 ahead of Tokyo Olympics.

There will be no set price for a bag, with each retailer able to decide how much to charge.

The government will try to “ingrain the habit among consumers of bringing bags” and help them understand the move as “a step towards transforming their lifestyle”, according to documents on the plan.

It comes after the G20 major economies agreed in June a deal to reduce marine plastic waste at a meeting in the host nation Japan.

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