EPA Collaboration with Japan
Videos from Japanese Officials in Celebration of EPA's 50th Anniversary | |
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Koizumi Shinjiro, Japan's Minister of the Environment |
Shinsuke J. Sugiyama, Japanese Ambassador to the United States |
Explore our work in Japan:
Highlights
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September 2019: Bilateral Meeting at UN General Assembly
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June 2019: G20 Environment and Energy Ministerial Meeting Hosted and Led By Japan
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April 2019: Anacostia River Earth Day Event with Ambassador of Japan
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April 2019:National Cherry Blossom Festival Reception Address
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April 2018: Japan Begins Sharing Data through Air-Now International
Bilateral Meeting at UN General Assembly Meeting
In September 2019, Administrator Andrew Wheeler met with Japan Minister of the Environment Shinjiro Koizumi while attending United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York. This was an opportunity to exchange views and strengthen commitment on shared priorities such as marine litter and explore emerging areas of shared interest such as on sustainable management of food.
G20 Environment and Energy Ministerial Meeting Hosted and Led by Japan
With Japan’s 2019 presidency of the G20, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan hosted the Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth. Exit It was held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture and was the first ever G20 environment ministerial meeting. EPA and MoE worked closely together in preparing and coordinating priorities for this historic gathering. This alignment contributed to achieving consensus on taking steps to accelerate environmental protection and economic growth by innovation and addressing marine plastic litter and resource efficiency. At the Karuizawa summit, environment leaders adopted the G20 Implementation Framework for Actions on Marine Plastic Litter to take voluntary measures to better manage waste and reduce plastic pollution in oceans and assist developing countries in doing the same.
Anacostia River Earth Day Event with Ambassador of Japan
In celebration of Earth Day 2019, Administrator Wheeler and Ambassador of Japan Shinsuke J. Sugiyama participated in an event on the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. with officials from DC Water. The dignitaries rode aboard DC Water’s recently upgraded skimmer boat, which removes hundreds of tons of trash per year from local waterways. Public remarks signified the importance of clean water and addressing marine litter for the United States and Japan and commitment to make this a priority issue during Japan’s leadership of the G20 environment summit in June 2019.
National Cherry Blossom Festival Reception Address
On April 9, 2019, EPA Administrator Wheeler delivered remarks at a National Cherry Blossom Festival Reception at the official residence of the Japanese Ambassador. As the ranking U.S. official at the event, the Administrator recognized the importance of the U.S.-Japan relationship and our over 40 years of environmental partnership. The speech highlighted marine litter as a top priority issue that the U.S. and Japan are partnering to address bilaterally and globally.
Japan Begins Sharing Data through Air-Now International
The Ministry of the Environment began sharing Japanese air quality data within the AirNow-International system. The global AirNow-International community provides real-time air quality information to citizens, informing the public about the quality of the air they breathe.
Activities
Decontamination of Hazardous Materials
Decontamination and recovery: EPA collaborates with Japan on management and decontamination of radiation and hazardous waste. EPA co-chairs the Decommissioning and Environmental Management Working Group under the U.S.-Japan Bilateral Commission on Nuclear Decontamination. This Commission was established after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011 to coordinate collaboration and assistance in recovering from nuclear incidents. The Agency also participates in the Bilateral Commission’s Emergency Management Working Group.
In recent years, EPA has shared technical expertise with Japan on lessons learned from environmental remediation, examining data analysis, effectiveness evaluation, technologies for volume reduction, and how to share results with the international community.
Reducing Exposure to Toxic Chemicals
Japan participates in the EPA-supported Asia Pacific Mercury Monitoring Network Exit to promote a network of monitoring and sharing data on mercury in the atmosphere in the Asia Pacific region. In September 2018, in conjunction with the 8th meeting of the Network, Japanese experts delivered an Atmospheric Mercury Sampling Workshop and donated six ambient monitoring toolkits to participating countries.
The U.S. and Japan play leadership roles in the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership. Through this, we are pursuing opportunities to collaborate with countries using mercury processes. Through a joint chlor-alkali mission to Uruguay in March 2018, officials discussed converting chlor-alkali and caustic soda production to use to non-mercury processes.
Promoting Environmental Education
EPA and the Ministry of the Environment of Japan promote quality environmental education and empowerment of youth through the Global Environmental Education Partnership and other bilateral and international platforms for sharing information and resources on environmental education.
Agreements
- U.S.-Japan Agreement on Cooperation in Environmental Protection (1975)
- Letter of Intent Between the Japan Atomic Energy Agency and the U.S. EPA on Cooperation in the Field of Radiation Protection (2018)
- Statement of Intent Between the U.S. EPA and the Government of Japan’s National Institute of Technology and Evaluation [on chemicals management] (2020)
Key Partners
The following links exit the site Exit
- Ministry of the Environment, Government of Japan
- Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
- National Institute for Environmental Studies
- National Institute of Technology and Evaluation
- U.S. Embassy in Japan