PETpla.net Insider 03 / 2021

EDITOUR PETplanet Insider Vol. 22 No. 03/21 www.petpla.net 12 caused not only a postponement of the Olympic games but triggered a major recession with real GDP projected to shrink by more than five per cent. But Japan has surprised us all. Currently, as of early March, the benchmark index in Tokyo is higher than it has been for decades. For starters, the announcement of a Covid-19 vaccination campaign has given a boost to share values. Primarily, however, the government has published economic figures for the fourth quarter of 2020 and these have recently been gain- ing decent upward momentum. Furthermore, Japan is benefitting from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), rati- fied in November 2020, which is a free-trade agreement between the ten ASEAN members states and five more nations in the Asia-Pacific region. A significant proportion of Japan’s manufacturing landscape comes under the plastics indus- try. The most commonly produced goods were films, sheets and plates, followed by containers and parts for machine tools. According to the Japan Plastics Industry Federa- tion (JPIF), PET material produc- tion was at 307,904 t in 2020 (2019: 365,286 t). Japan’s PET bottle, beverage and recycling market Land of the rising recycling rates by Gabriele Kosmehl The last stop on our current Editour took us to Japan. The world’s fourth largest island nation stretches over 378,000km 2 across the four main islands of Honshu, Hok- kaido, Kyushu and Shikoku as well as over 6,800 smaller islands. Japan is one of the most densely populated countries in the world - and has the highest proportion worldwide of vending machines, more than four million, dispensing drinks that are mostly bottled in PET - and recycled after use. Tour Sponsors: Macro-economic data 2020 2021 2025 Population (millions) 126.5 123.0* Population density (population/km²) 347 GDP (annual percent change) -4.8 % 3.1 %* GDP nom. (billion) US $ 4,944 $ 5,103 $* GDP/capita nom. US $ 39,048 $ 40,733 $* Inflation (%) -0.1 % 0.3 %* Unemployment rate (%) 2.9 % 2.8 %* *preliminary figure/estimate (sources: German Trade and Invest 2020/GTAI/IMF/MOFA) Japan’s economy At the end of 2019, the long- advertised VAT increase from 8% to 10% was implemented in Japan. Many purchases were therefore brought forward, especially as there were hopes for a good year for Japan’s economy in 2020, with the planned Olympic Games expected to draw large crowds. Then, early in 2020 came the Covid-19 shock and