Food Loss, Waste Reduction, and Recycling Strategies: Insights from Japan
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening. Welcome to the APO productivity talk series. I am Kate Sugita, head of multi country program division one program directorate for Asian productivity organization APO and the moderator for today’s talk. Our topic today is food loss and waste reduction insights from Japan. Today’s PE talk takes us on a journey into the food loss and waste reduction recently being one of the key factors for food security in Japan and even in the world. According to UN FO it has been said that onethird of food production is wasted worldwide as a target 12.3 of SDGs by 2030 har per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains including posth harvest losses. Also in Japan, the government have set the goal to reduce the amount of food waste by half by 2030 compared to the year 2000. And surprisingly, the target was achieved eight years ahead of schedule in 2022. Today, we have a distinguished expert in the field of food and waste, Mr. Manabu Suzuki who is director of food loss and waste and recycling management office ministry of agriculture forestry and fisheries of Japan. He will guide us with today’s theme food loss and waste reduction insights from Japan. Mr. Marabusuki, welcome. How are you today? Very good. Thank you. um secret and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to APO to provide and this wonderful opportunity. I’m very happy to share uh the recent lands and what is developing in terms of the food laws and ways in Japan. Thank you very much uh for your introduction of yourself uh Mr. Suzuki. So let’s dive right into our session. First of all Mr. Suzuki why is reduction of food loss and waste necessary? Okay, it’s a very good question and then I would say the the two points I would explain. The fourth one is the food lo and waste reduction is an international issue. It’s not unjust only national or community level as you know that the sustainable development guide uh goals uh SDGs and provides and uh the by 2030 to have the per capita global food waste and then the other um the international organ regional organization as a APEC sorry for APIC and has provided uh the regal principles and then the OECD also has a pray good and well sorry for and the pray for the providing on the information what is going on the international levels for in terms of the food rest waste and then also I think it’s really important to think the food loss and waste from the view of the economic efficiency food loss and waste is one of the parts but I think it’s important to for us to see the it’s an social economic impact by the food loss and waste. So I think it’s a food loss is very important of the element not only the national level but also the international and also the economic level. Thank you. Thank you Mr. Suki. uh we were able to understand why reduction and food loss and waste is necessary. Yeah, it is because yeah uh it is not only national but also international level target uh set by the UN SDGs and also uh food ro and reaction are very significant affect the uh economical and societal uh problem in the world. So now next uh please could you brief on the development of food loss and waste reduction in Japan? Okay. So this slide shows the uh the trends in terms of the reduction food loss and waste in Japan. And then we have the national targets to have the the volume food loss and waste both the household food loss and this and business level. And I would like to um the please to inform the everybody and to see this on video that in 2022 Japan has achieved uh half the borium food loss and waste for the business food loss and waste. Thank you very much Mr. Suzuki. I was so impressed to learn that Japan has successfully reduced the amount of food loss and waste for last 20 years. So now I’m curiously interested in the government strategy or policy. Please explain Japan’s government strategy or policy on reducing of food loss and waste. Okay. So sasan I would like to start with the decision made by minister council for promotion of the food loss and reduction which was held in last year July. There the prime minister Kishida has declared that we have achieved the uh to have the food loss and waste for the business by 2030 8 years ahead of schedule. And then he suggested requested the governments to consider review and setting a new targets for the food and business and food loss and waste. And then also he mentioned that the promotion greater disclosure of food business regard food loss and is very important especially for the uh food industry. With this uh decision, we have discussed with industry and have decided to revise the national food loss and waste or business food loss and waste by 2030 and the new targets had for business food loss loss and waste has revised by 60% instead of half and then I want to know explain And um the national policy on food loss reduction which is under acts we have two acts the correspondent food loss and waste reduction act has an basic policy and then also it provides responsibilities and laws not only for the central government and local government businesses but also it has provides the role of the consumer to reduce the food loss and waste. The other uh act is called the food recycling act and it has also the basic policy and which national goal and the food lose some reduction is set as I mentioned before and then I will I’m pleased to mention well that we have this under this act it’s a very unique provision which um obliged the food companies to reports food loss underway annually. I think it’s the just only Japan has kind such kind of of the provision for at the and act level rebel and the regal reel I think it is very useful to reduce food loss and waste and this slides shows the trends of food loss and waste generated by sector food sectors manufacture food service restaurant retail all services as you can the every sector show the the decreasing trend but I think about well the manufacturer is still has the larger parts of the food loss and waste. So we have discussed with the industry and the academy that what is the the main source of the food loss and waste by sector manufacture horse and retail food service restaurant and as you can see the main source is like an in manufacturer sector material clubs are the main source of the food Los Angeles retail the unsold is called as the war the the main source of the hood loss and waste. So we have also um identify what kind of initiatives are very useful to reduce food loss and waste by those and the source of the ris food loss and waste. For example, under the manufacturer extension on the best before dates upycling the businesses as a useful to reduce food loss and well food loss and waste and also as in in this slide and in the middle the tide or it’s a Japanese word is very unusful for the to reduce the food loss and waste in the retail Awesome. But I think it’s always very important to understand not only for the efforts by food industries but also the understanding of the consumers and act the change in the consumers or their behavior is one of the keys in addition to the uh the food businesses activities. I became to well understand Japan’s policies and strategies on reducing food loss and waste. Also, I think they can keep this momentum and proceed further to the new target. Thank you very much, Mr. Suzuki. I also ask you on another topic. Please elaborate on the initiatives of food industry to reduce food loss and waste. Okay. So I would like to and give you one of the example the the initiative by the food industry. As you can see here um the there is the the activities that using making the most use of the innovation which is for example the data science data and AI based approach. The information is a key to use to be used for reduction of the hood loss on the waste. The information from the other materological information and how the people are moving how do the people are the or the behaves and also what’s the cells and the points of sales and the changing. So those of the information is integrated and then this suggests that what kind of the an items have to be manufactures in on in time by using of the information and database approach. the one of the groups of the food industries and then also IT and sectors jointly get together and work with the food loss and waste and in this uh and example it shows that well the the waste food loss and waste has decreased by 70 80% and then also I just want to be very interesting to see the workload has also So be you and decreased for the step and then out of stock decreased um 90%. And then very and interesting CC see the both the profit and sales increased and couple percentage. So those five elements and all everything has are improves. So this and the groups has under gets the Mont Minai um Montai hours which is an ministerial prize in 2025 and then I think it’s very important to um expand and to share this and and practices between and businesses in this country. I understand uh the food companies make a lot of efforts and very good results and also I think it is important for not only food companies but also consumers to understand and change their behavior. How are you encouraging this? Thank you for the question but it’s very tough question because we cannot force the people to change their behaviors. Um the consumer affairs agency which is one of the government agency has the responsibility to address issues. They provide the informations for example the tips for the food loss and reduction at home by the brocher or website and also they organize an event uh food loss and waste month and date uh which is an every October and my ministry also has an well pleased to say that we produced a very short video for the people to encourage the change the behavior to water food loss and waste and I just showed that some my colleagues and acting then a guy approach and then he just started to choose an item in the stores and then he trying to take an item from back instead of of the he trying to take a newer one to place in the back. Then then the mascot uh who lost we call loss and encouraging him not to take from the back but to take from front. So the the loss is gazing. So also this is one of the initiative we have. So I I was just want to please this to share with you. Thank you very much uh for interesting work of government of Japan and I am interested in government officials actively engaging with their efforts from very near familiar places. Also I think the achievement of Japan has come from accumulating small but continuous steps. I believe this approach would also contribute to reducing food loss and waste in other countries. So I think now uh Japan uh can uh contribute to uh regional or uh global area. So uh could you explain something about the contributing to the world? Thank you so much and the question is very important. I would say that sharing the lesson learned the experience is a key to the food loss not only for the national level re but also the regional the global level. We have so many and the opportunity to provide our restaurant and experience for the uh the other country the regions for example the UN organizations OECD and then APEC also and then I be happy to join uh the the the opportunity a APO has the opportunity to provide and share the US plans but I think it’s for the as the Japan and also wanted to uh learn from others. So I think that the sharing the information what they best practice best learns is very important. Thank you very much Suzuki for a very useful insight. Do you have any final thoughts for our viewers? Thank you. Yeah, I think about the food loss and this we cannot achieve by and just only one initiative. I think we need to address less so many other matters but I think I well the the three elements I I believe is an important is to how to have less consumer behavior it’s not an easy one but I think it’s a we can work together and then I think it’s we can contribute all the food by um changing slowly changing grad casury change and the consumer behavior and then the other elements the the innovation is a key to who lost on I I’m I’m a believe about innovation well the change in the society and changing the people is and by using the innovation for examp really really important and the other the last parts the connection It’s kind of what I said about the sharing the respond also. But I think the connecting with the food industry is a really important to sustainable and make the industry and efficiently and then how to the produce and the well and produce the branding by using the food loss and win elements. I think about those three elements and I believe they’re important and then if you allow me to um I just wanted to show and ask and the picture which is my team who are working with me and then it’s there it’s very um nice teams and then working togethers and then not only the in in a ministry but the work with other ministry on the industry. So I’m proud of this teams and they’re really good guys and yeah really so I I I would just wanted to say that thank you for them and for their efforts. Yes, thank you very much Mr. Suzuki. We are grateful to our expert Mr. Suzuki for this enlightening discussion of food loss and waste. we can well understand the current situations of food rust and waste in Japan. We hope that government of Japan continues to explore the reducing food ro and waste and leading to revitalizing food and agriculture industry across the country. Furthermore, I hope that those efforts in Japan will affect other member economies possibly and that this session has provided variable insights into food loss and waste issue and its potential to revitalize food security globally. Thank you for joining us today for the APO productivity talk series. Please don’t forget to subscribe to the APO YouTube channel for more insightful discussions. Stay tuned, stay productive and we look forward to meeting you in the next session. Goodbye for now.
This P-Talk highlights the current situation regarding food loss and waste reduction in Japan and strategies to tackle the issue. Japan has achieved significant results in reducing food loss and waste for the last twenty years. Manabu Suzuki, one of the government officials with responsibility for this issue, introduces various efforts made within both private and public sectors.
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