Act Partially Amending the Waste Management and Public Cleansing Act and Related Laws

The amendment responds to two different problems. Some businesses storing or recycling discarded metal and plastic items at scrap yards have caused noise, water pollution and fires, while large disasters have exposed the need for faster and more coordinated waste treatment. The government therefore combined a new scrap-yard regulatory framework with measures to prepare for and manage disaster waste.

The scrap-yard provisions establish a licensing system for covered storage and recycling operations, operating standards, and controls over exports of certain environmentally risky items. Separately, the disaster-waste provisions strengthen municipal planning, agreements with waste businesses, subcontracting arrangements, and designated disposal capacity. These two groups of provisions have different commencement schedules.

Sources: [1] [2]

The Cabinet approved the bill on 10 April 2026 following council deliberations. The Diet enacted the amendment, which was promulgated on 19 June 2026 as Act No. 43 of 2026. On 8 September, the Environment Ministry reported that implementing standards and local-government guidance for the new scrap-yard regime were still being developed.

On 11 September 2026 the Cabinet adopted orders relating to the disaster-waste provisions, and on 15 September the Environment Ministry promulgated implementing ministerial rules and published public-comment results. e-Gov records 16 September 2026 as the effective date for a group of related amendments. The separate scrap-yard licensing regime should not be described as having entered into force on that date.

1. 2026-04-10 — Cabinet approved the amendment bill [1]
2. 2026-06-19 — Act No. 43 of 2026 promulgated [2] [5]
3. 2026-09-11 — Cabinet adopted implementing orders for disaster-waste measures [3]
4. 2026-09-15 — Disaster-waste implementing ministerial rules promulgated [4]
5. 2026-09-16 — Specified disaster-waste and related amendments entered into force [5]

The timeline of related official records below lists the records this dashboard has matched.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Confirmed next steps

No further step has been confirmed by an official source.

Expected procedural steps

The usual procedure for this kind of instrument; not a forecast for this reform.

• The Environment Ministry is expected to develop detailed scrap-yard storage and recycling standards and guidance for local authorities and businesses before the licensing regime commences.
• A Cabinet Order normally specifies the commencement date of the scrap-yard provisions, which the enacted Act places within two years and six months after promulgation.

Outstanding uncertainties

• The exact commencement date of the scrap-yard licensing regime has not been confirmed; the statutory outer limit is not an appointed commencement date.
• Detailed permit criteria, operating standards, transitional treatment for existing yards, and export verification procedures require review of the final subordinate legislation.
• The 16 September 2026 commencement applies to specified disaster-waste and related amendments, not automatically to every provision of Act No. 43.

Businesses that store or recycle used metal or plastic products should assess whether their operations will fall within the new scrap-yard licensing regime once it commences. They should prepare to review site conditions, environmental safeguards, recordkeeping and possible export verification requirements, without assuming that a licence under the new provisions is already required.

Local authorities, waste-management contractors and final-disposal-site operators should examine the disaster-waste arrangements already brought into force. The implementing orders address the conditions for re-entrusting disaster-waste work, simplified procedures for certain disaster-related facilities, and the five-year renewal interval for a designation of a disaster-waste final-disposal-site operator.

Points to check

• Classify the materials and activities at each scrap yard and monitor the final definition of covered operations.
• Track the Cabinet Order appointing the commencement date and any transitional period before making licensing representations.
• Review disaster-waste contracts and subcontracting chains against the amended delegation standards.
• For relevant disposal sites, assess the new designation and renewal requirements and applicable capacity and technical criteria.

Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4]