The analysis of Japanese consumers’ purchasing behaviour towards single-use plastic packaging

In recent years, the concept of sustainability has been put into the spotlight due to greater concern of environmental issues. Plastic pollution is one of serious sustainability issues which governments are rushing into making new regulations to deal with. The Japanese government is struggling to manage Japan’s heavy use of plastics and Japanese organizations are being asked to take positive actions towards reducing the use of plastic through media coverage and public pressure. However, plastic pollution requires huge efforts not only from governments but also organizations, whether large or small, and all individuals on Earth. This research aims to investigate Japanese consumers’ purchasing behaviour towards single-use plastics, especially focusing on packaging, and to see if the Japanese consumers’ perception of sustainability and plastic packaging influences this. Quantitative research was undertaken through sixteen structured questions to obtain Japanese consumers’ opinions on their purchasing behaviour and how their perception of sustainability and the use of packaging affected them. This research found that there was the large gap between Japanese consumers’ concerns and behaviour about environmental issues and this gap was caused by the price and inconvenience. Concern is just one of solutions and Japanese consumers are required to put the concern into practice in real life. To gain a deeper understanding of the current state of environmental issues, especially plastic waste, the Japanese government and organizations have responsibility to educate consumers and to support them.