Japan\u27s Overuse of Plastic Packaging

Anastasia Kirby came from O’Fallon, Illinois to Murray State University to major in Japanese. She is minoring in Business Administration. She studied abroad in Japan for eleven months during her sophomore year, an experience that helped her to perfect her Japanese, as well as develop more independence and self-confidence. She is deeply interested in studying foreign languages and cultures, especially Japanese, which she has been studying since she was in middle school. In her free time, she loves translating (from videos, to songs, to written texts), so she is studying to be a translator. Being a curious person, she loves to research all sorts of things and gain a basic understanding of as many languages as she can. She plans to move to Australia in the near future after graduating. Japan’s Overuse of Plastic Packaging The overuse of plastic, particularly disposable plastic packaging, is a major problem in the sphere of environmental issues, and Japan ranks second in the world for the amount of disposable plastic packaging per capita. To date, very little research has been conducted that explicitly links Japanese cultural attitudes to plastic overuse. Such attitudes include the traditional culture of wrapping items such as gifts, as well as the religious emphasis on cleanliness and purity in the two main religions in Japan, Buddhism and Shinto. In this paper, I demonstrate the link between aspects of traditional Japanese culture and the modern use of plastic packaging. I examine articles and news stories, particularly those coming from Japan, about the overuse of plastic packaging. Previously, traditional Japanese practices involved the use of reusable materials or paper, but industrialization has replaced most of these biodegradable materials with plastic. Other factors that I consider include convenience and lack of motivation to change habits. Such factors are contributing to the country’s overuse of plastic packaging, but there are various steps that can be taken to reduce this problem. This paper demonstrates that Japanese culture, including religious and social customs, is an important contributor to Japanese people’s increased use of plastic packaging. Thus, in order to find a solution that fits Japan’s unique circumstances, we must first learn more about traditional Japanese ideas and the viewpoints of the Japanese public today, and then implement changes that are compatible with Japan’s culture in order to ensure lasting change. Faculty Advisor: Professor Hatakeyam