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Welcome to the SDGs in the News Podcast.
This is Susan Yoshimura, Managing Editor of Japan 2 Earth, coming to you from Tokyo.
Today, we bring you another English article on Japan and the SDGs.
You can find the full text on our website. Just click the link in the episode notes.
Have a listen.
Japanese Company Junk and Company Takes on the Challenge of Recycling in Vietnam
In Part 1 of a two-part series, J2E columnist Tsuneo Takuchi shines a spotlight on a new
recycling company Hanoi and its determined and enterprising CEO. The event on recycling took
place at the 2nd Aeon Mall to be completed in the Hadong district of Hanoi. Just like those in Japan,
the mall's large first-floor event hall was filled with the cheerful sounds of music and children
playing. They were having fun with pet plastic bottles, coloring them and making into shapes of
their choice. But there is one rule that they had to follow. The cap and label had to be removed from
the plastic bottle before using it. The event was designed to give young children first-hand
experience, rather than just explanations, in separating waste for recycling. Call me the
Recycling Ninja. Takutoshi Nakamura brought his experience in recycling from Japan and came to
Vietnam. Having left his own family back in Japan, Nakamura was at the Aeon Mall teaching Vietnamese
children the importance of separating waste. Inheriting the know-how of his father, who ran
a recycling business in Japan for over 40 years, Nakamura set up a 100% Japanese-owned company in
Hanoi. Nakamura established Junkin Company Vietnam in August 2020. The company is engaged in the
wholesale, import, and collection of recycled paper in Hanoi. It is 100% Japanese-owned, and Nakamura's
reason for this was simple and clear. I wanted to be able to move quickly whenever we want or need
to do something. Being able to implement quick decisions was what helped Nakamura overcome many
hardships in Japan. He explained, in this paperless era, collection of newspapers and
magazines has drastically dropped. But with online shopping, items are delivered daily in
cardboard boxes. Vietnam is no exception. Surprisingly, paper recycling is still holding
steady. Nakamura's past experiences shaped his current thinking. In Japan, his company had made
shrewd responses to the changing environment surrounding paper. Following his father's advice
upon graduation from college, Nakamura began his career at the Japan Pulp and Paper Company listed
on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company ranked number one in wholesale paper
sales volume. After acquiring knowledge of the industry, Nakamura joined Shinwa Sayuji Company
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Ltd., his father's Kyoto-based waste collection business. When the price of waste paper scrap
plummeted with the Lehman shock, many companies in the industry closed their doors. But Shinwa
Sayuji managed to weather the storm. In fact, the Shinwa Sayuji Group grew to account for more
than 10% of the total volume of recyclables collected in the Kansai region. From its
Kyoto headquarters, it continued to expand at a breakneck pace, adding 16 resource recycling
plants in Osaka, Miya, and Shiga prefectures. Today, those 16 plants are still fully operating.
Looking back, Nakamura said, the resource recycling business in Japan is mature. However,
if you look around the world, there are countless countries that need the know-how we have
accumulated in the recycling business. When I asked this question, Nakamura showed me some statistics.
To my surprise, I learned that Vietnam imports a large amount of waste paper from Japan.
The reason for this is that Japanese waste paper is mainly recycled paper,
which easily dissolves during processing. Japan has a high recycling rate for waste paper.
Even when sold to paper companies, there is a surplus. In the past, the surplus waste paper
was exported to China, leading to profits. However, China stopped importing waste paper
altogether to focus on domestic waste paper collection. Many companies that had depended
on exports to China went out of business. But Nakamura and his company had diversified the
countries they exported to early on. They thus were able to avoid a crisis by shifting their
waste paper sales to Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. It was at this time that
Nakamura began to pay special attention to Vietnam. The recovery rate of waste paper in
Vietnam is 31 percent, the lowest in Southeast Asia. That is why we were convinced that there
was room for growth and that our know-how could be utilized to the fullest extent,
Nakamura explained. There is another reason why Nakamura set his sights on Vietnam,
especially the capital city of Hanoi. Paper companies that would use the large quantities
of waste paper Nakamura planned to collect were concentrated in the suburbs of Hanoi.
About 20 percent of the total amount of paper produced in Vietnam is made at small and medium-sized
mills in Bạch Ninh province, said Nakamura. Located about an hour s drive from the city center,
Bạch Ninh is located in Hanoi s suburbs. It is also home to a large concentration of plants
of Japanese-affiliated companies. And small, family-run paper mills are also spread out in
rows in the area. Nakamura had the sufficient know-how in recycling and collection.
He had also secured likely customers for the waste paper.
However, the biggest hurdle he still faced was how to increase the volume of recyclables
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collected and how to promote separation of recyclables to ensure high-quality collection.
The success or failure of his business would come down to this.
Waste itself can generate income as long as it can be sorted. But in Vietnam, awareness of the
importance of separating waste remains low. The same can be said of Japan in the past.
Nakamura, with his know-how, was up for the challenge of figuring out how to get systems
for separating waste in place. Once he made the decision to take the plunge in Vietnam,
Nakamura moved quickly. He convinced his family and his brothers who ran their company,
and moved to Vietnam by himself. Part 2 of this report will discuss
Nakamura s unique plans to break into the Vietnamese market and his strategy for the future.
