Japan to reduce food waste

Japanese Firms Getting Serious About Food Waste

TOKYO – One of Japan’s biggest problems is food waste. Million tons of edible products are discarded annually, hence major convenience stores decided to take the issue into a serious account.

Although it seems like the convenience stores are the biggest food waste producers, the truth is, restaurants and households produce more food waste. It is most likely because Japanese demand for freshness and safety, which make a lot of products need to be discarded annually.

Two Japanese convenience store companies, Seven-Eleven Japan Co and Lawson Inc will start a new movement—they will start discounting rice balls and lunch boxes that are near the expired date. With the movement, both convenience store companies are hoping to reduce waste. Lawson’s president, Sadanobu Takemasu, also stated that they will work hard to sell out their food products. He added that around 10% of rice balls and lunch boxes are being discarded as waste.

U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization stated that there are about 1.3 billion tons of food waste. Ironically, there are 815 million people who are undernourished. Hence, people can help those who are undernourished by giving food to them, instead of wasting food. United Nations also hope that in 2030, the level of food waste will be reduced. 

One of the major restaurant operators, Skylark Holdings Co., has decided to offer customers a container to take away their leftover food. However, again, due to the freshness that the Japanese want, a lot of customers still haven’t fond of the concept yet.