Tokyo asks experts how to stop litter in the city

Tokyo, the capital of Japan, wants cleaner streets. On August 25, 2026, the governor^*1 of Tokyo, Yuriko Koike, asked a group of experts to study the problem of litter^*2 in the city. The group is called the Tokyo Metropolitan Waste Management Council^*3. It gives advice to the Tokyo government about trash.

The governor asked the council two questions. First, what should Tokyo do about litter to make the city cleaner? Second, how can Tokyo build a system to make these plans happen? The council will think about the years up to around 2030. A Tokyo law on waste says the governor can ask the council for advice in this way.

Tokyo says there is more litter now in busy shopping areas, in places that many tourists visit, and on the land next to rivers. In some areas, this has become a serious problem for everyone. Tokyo gives two reasons. People changed the way they live during the COVID-19 pandemic^*4. Also, more tourists are coming to Tokyo, and many of them do not know the local rules about trash.

Tokyo has worked on this problem before. It has given advice and money to the local governments^*5 inside Tokyo, and it has held meetings with them to talk about litter. But life and business in Tokyo have changed, so the government says it needs to look at the problem again.

In March 2026, Tokyo made a new long-term plan for recycling^*6 and waste. The council will use this plan as a guide for its work.

1. *1 governor: the leader of the government of a big area, like Tokyo
2. *2 litter: trash that people drop on the ground in public places
3. *3 council: a group of people who meet to give advice or make decisions
4. *4 pandemic: a time when a sickness spreads to many countries around the world
5. *5 local governments: the offices that run each town or part of a city
6. *6 recycling: using old things again to make new things instead of throwing them away