Current Topics

The third meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury (COP3) took place from 25 to 29 November 2019 at the International Conference Centre in Geneva. The Minamata Convention on Mercury is an agreement on concrete measures for reducing mercury-related risks throughout the entire lifecycle of mercury, from production, trade and usage, to emission and disposal, while ensuring the participation of both developed and developing countries. The convention, named after the city in Kumamoto Prefecture, demonstrates the global determination that health damages from mercury like the Minamata disease should never be repeated.

The Conference of the Parties to the Minamata Convention on Mercury

At the opening ceremony of COP3, the aim of the convention and the need to keep going were emphasised. Realising 113 parties (increased to 118 parties as of 10th March 2020) to the convention to respond to mercury pollution was celebrated.

The Devotion of International Communities

A series of plenary sessions and thematic sessions were convened during the first days of COP3 to discuss different issues on mercury management. The thematic sessions addressed various technical issues, including the release and emission of mercury resulting from the open burning of waste and effectiveness evaluation. Throughout the week, the delegates had worked in Contact Groups in order to reach agreement on all topics to become COP3 decisions.

Difficulties Coming to Agreement among the Parties

Towards the end of the week, there was a sense of urgency by some and fear by others as Contact Groups continued their discussions on the remaining issues through the night and into the early morning hours on the last day. For example, amendments to Annex A on the phasing out of dental amalgams did not progress as the African Group proposed. As for effectiveness evaluation, which will have a direct effect on the programme of convention for the coming years, many participants were left believing that COP3 had missed an important opportunity. The delegates could not come to a mutual conclusion by the end of the week and the ad-hoc technical expert group’s proposal had to be reduced in scope. After the closing plenary of the week-long meeting, the members of the Japanese delegation came out to the empty street around 3 a.m. wondering how a number of questions would play out over the next two years. Several decisions were made to move forward; however, at the same time the centrepiece decision on effectiveness evaluation was not as stringent as we wished it to be.

Towards COP4

Nonetheless, the strong engagement of the Convention and the parties in driving national, regional, and international efforts to address the toxicity of mercury will continue. The annual COPs will shift to biannual COPs, with COP4 to be held in Bali, Indonesia, in October 2021. Considering the available advanced alternatives and mercury-reduction technologies, Japan has achieved trust among the international community with more stringent regulations that have been introduced in Japan and due to cooperation with developing countries. The Japanese delegation is certain that progress will be made over the next two years. Japan’s determination to lead the convention will also remain steadfast.

The 21st Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among Japan, China and Korea (TEMM21) was held on 23-24 November 2019 in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. The environment ministers of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea were in attendance to review environmental cooperation between the three nations to date and acknowledge recent progress made in tripartite environmental cooperation. Likewise, the ministers reached agreement on the establishment of new priority areas for the next Tripartite Joint Action Plan (2020-2024), and adopted a Joint Communiqué.

Overview of TEMM21

The Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among Japan, China and Korea (TEMM) is hosted on a rotating basic and has been held annually since 1999. TEMM aims to bring the environment ministers of Japan, China and the Republic of Korea, the nations that form the core of East Asia, under one roof to conduct dialogue on environmental issues affecting the region and the entire globe and to strengthen cooperative relations. TEMM, held every year without fail up to the 2019 21st meeting, is an extremely valuable framework for ministerial level meetings. In attendance at TEMM21 were Koizumi Shinjiro, Minister of the Environment, Japan, Cho Myung- Rae, Minister of Environment, Republic of Korea, and Li Ganjie, Minister of Ecology and Environment of the People’s Republic of China. The ministers first spoke directly, exchanging opinions on various issues including marine plastic litter countermeasures, climate change countermeasures, countermeasures on alien species including red imported fire ants, and air pollution. The ministers reviewed tripartite environmental cooperation to date and acknowledged recent progress. Next, the ministers reached an agreement on the establishment of priority areas for the formulation of the new Tripartite Joint Action Plan that would lay out concrete environmental cooperation activities between the three countries for five years starting in 2020, and a Joint Communiqué was adopted.

Outcomes of TEMM21

As revealed in Minister Koizumi’s press conference statement, “If Japan, China and Korea move, the world will move,” the three countries have a great responsibility to the global environment.

Five years have passed since formulation of the current Tripartite Joint Action Plan, making it necessary to take into account the many environment-related developments during that time, including formulation of the SDGs, conclusion and entry into force of the Paris Agreement, the Osaka Blue Ocean Vision shared at the G20 Osaka Summit in June 2019, and the post-2020 targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity of this year. Japan, China and the Republic of Korea have a role to play not only in cooperation between neighboring East Asian nations, but also as nations that point the way forward in addressing global environmental issues.

As such, the following fundamental principles were put forth at TEMM21 to ensure that the Tripartite Joint Action Plan to start in 2020 is based on these global trends and will more effectively contribute to providing solutions to global problems such as achievement of the SDGs.

Firstly, in order to “maximise synergies among the priority areas”, synergies among SDGs will be taken into consideration in the individual environmental areas that are the focus of TEMM activities and interlinkages will be strengthened.

Secondly, TEMM will aim to expand its multilateral framework to include not only activities among the three nations, but also through promotion of the “3+x modality”, such as the G20 and ASEAN+3.

Finally, TEMM activities are to be developed on the basis of mutual respect and mutual benefits, and will take into account each country’s situation to pursue effective and efficient implementation.

Based on the above principles, the following eight priority areas were set for formulation of the next Joint Action Plan. (1) Air Quality Improvement, (2) 3R/Circular Economy/Zero Waste City, (3) Marine and Water Environment Management, (4) Climate Change, (5) Biodiversity, (6) Chemical Management and Environmental Emergency Response, (7) Transition to Green Economy, and (8) Environmental Education, Public Awareness and Engagement.

View ahead to TEMM22

The next Tripartite Joint Action Plan is expected to be adopted at TEMM22 to be held in 2020. The Ministry of the Environment of Japan intends to continue to strengthen environmental cooperation between Japan, China and the Republic of Korea based on the outcomes of TEMM21, namely the three fundamental principles and the eight priority areas.

On 11th March 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred and the ensuing tsunami caused an accident at Tokyo Electric Power Company Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). Radioactive materials were emitted into the air, leading to the unavoidable evacuation of residents from certain areas mainly in Fukushima Prefecture. In August of the same year, the national government put into force an act on special measures, and has been making efforts to improve the situation since then.

In January 2012, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) established the “Fukushima Environmental Regeneration Office” (later renamed the “Fukushima Regional Environmental Office”) to handle offsite remediation in Fukushima.

Radioactive materials must be “removed”, “blocked off” and “kept away” to reduce the impact of radiation on public health. Accordingly, the following work has been conducted.

Decontamination

MOE implemented decontamination works such as soil removal in areas where people live (completed as planned).

Temporary Storage Sites

“Temporary Storage Sites” were established for temporarily storing removed soil generated during the decontamination process. The soil is covered with water-proof sheets so as not to release radiation.

Interim Storage Facility (Okuma and Futaba Towns)

This facility (1,600 ha) was established to store and manage the soil and waste safely.

Transportation

Removed soil will be transported from all “Temporary Storage Sites” in Fukushima Prefecture to the “Interim Storage Facility”. The total volume is approximately 14 million m3.

Volume reduction and recycling (Nagadoro Borough, Iitate Village)

MOE has been conducting a model demonstration project for volume reduction and recycling of the removed soil for final disposal.

Waste disposal

Waste contaminated with radioactive material is treated by incineration to reduce the volume.

The results of these projects have shown that the air dose rates of radiation have dropped significantly and evacuation orders have been lifted in all Evacuation Order Areas except for Difficult-to-Return Zones designated after the NPP accident.

When compared to areas around the world, the current air dose rates in Fukushima are the same as other major cities.

We will continue our efforts to eliminate misconceptions and share correct information with the international community.

See the Ministry of the Environment website for details.

http://josen.env.go.jp/en/