Abstract
Although it is commonly known on the global market that, “Japan’s waste management and recycling industries have developed high-level technologies for environmental goods,” this meritorious statement is often followed up by, “but its international expansion, which requires a total management business that includes operation and management, has been delayed”. This paper analyzes the international competitiveness of Japan’s waste management and recycling industries using available data from the perspective of the environmental goods and services trade. As a result, in terms of the number of patents by country, China has gradually increased in all technologies. In the international application as of 2018, Japanese companies have gained a high share in solid waste disposal and waste incinerators. With regard to trade for related environmental goods, China has gained export competitiveness in both incinerator and crushing machines, causing Japan to lose its export competitiveness relatively. It was found that among all foreign companies that own waste treatment and disposal service businesses in Asian countries, Japan was seen to hold the largest investment.
