Share of plastic waste exports in Japan
Japan: Share of plastic waste exports was 21.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of plastic waste exports in Japan, 1988–2024
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of plastic waste exports in Japan is 21.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 59.1% on the previous year and up 77.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Japan peaked at 26.9% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 4.1%, in 1994.
That places Japan 1st out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 21.5% | 16.2% | 26.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 5.0% | 4.1% | 6.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 10.9% | 8.7% | 12.7% | 3 |
| 2010s | 12.8% | 10.8% | 15.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.6% | 12.5% | 21.3% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More environment data for Japan
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 1,063 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 8.58 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 38.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 1.04 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 3.5 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.3162 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 50.87 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.6478 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.4564 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 5.74 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of plastic waste exports in Japan?
- Share of plastic waste exports in Japan was 21.3% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 26.9% in 1988.
- What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.1% in 1994.
- How does Japan rank for share of plastic waste exports?
- Japan ranks 1st out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 77.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.