What is 3R initiative ?

At the G8 Summit held in Sea Island, Georgia, U.S.A. in June 2004, Japan’s Prime Minister Koizumi proposed the “3R Initiatives” aimed at building a sound material-cycle society through the 3Rs (reduce, reuse, and recycle), winning the consensus of heads of other nations. Based on this agreement, a ministerial meeting for launching the 3R Initiatives was held in Tokyo between April 28 and 30, 2005.

Results of Meetings and Conferences

  1. Ministerial Conference on the 3R Initiative (Tokyo, Japan, April 2005)
  2. Senior Officials Meeting on the 3R Initiative(Tokyo, Japan, March 2006)
  3. Asia 3R Conference(Tokyo, Japan, November 2006)
  4. Senior Officials Meeting on the 3R Initiative (Bonn, Germany, October 2007)
  5. The Second Asia 3R Conference (Tokyo, Japan , March 2008)
  6. G8 Environmental Minister Meeting (Kobe, Japan, May 2008)

Establishment of "Regional 3R Forum in Asia"

Japan proposed the inauguration of the “Regional 3R Forum in Asia”, in the Meeting of the Environment Ministers during the East Asia Summit held in Hanoi, Vietnam in October 2008, and has obtained approval from the other participating countries. The Asian Forum for the Promotion of 3Rs is a platform for inter-regional cooperation for promoting the 3Rs, through means such as the creation/implementation of pilot projects and the promotion of research cooperation, with the participation of wide-ranged related parties such as international organizations, aid agencies, research institutes and private sectors.

To that end, the Ministry of the Environment and UN Center for Regional Development jointly hosted “Inaugural Meeting of Regional 3R Forum in Asia” in November 2009, and 15 Asian government representatives, international institutions and experts on 3Rs participated in the meeting. In the meeting, “Tokyo 3R Statement Regarding Establishment of Regional 3R Forum in Asia” was agreed by the participants and “Regional 3R Forum in Asia” was established. Under the Regional 3R Forum in Asia, high-level policy dialogues on 3Rs will be promoted, support for the implementation of 3Rs projects in each country will be promoted, information which is useful for 3Rs promotion will be shared and networking of concerned parties will be advanced in the future.

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