April 6, 2025

The Japan-proposed “carbon capture and storage (CCS)” project, in which Japan exports large amounts of CO2 produced in the county to Asia to store them underground, has been under fire from a number of international NGOs.

About 90 civic and environmental groups from around the world have jointly submitted a letter of protest to the Japanese government. The Japanese Communist Party is also opposed to the government CCS policy due to a high risk of accidents.

JCP lawmaker Yamashita Yoshiki last month raised this issue at a meeting of the House of Councilors Committee on Environment, pointing out that the acceptance of Japan’s CO2 for underground storage is currently being discussed in Malaysia but civil society activists are voicing opposition toward it.

He said, “It is because many Malaysians have been harmed by accepting Japan’s plastic waste. They are claiming that this is ‘waste colonialism’.”

However, the Japanese government has been insisting on storing Japan’s CO2 abroad using the CCS technology as Environment Minister Asao Keiichiro states, “It is a promising option” (Upper House Environment Committee on March 24).

Past related article:
> JCP Kasai opposes CCS project because of risk of accidents [March 25, 2024]