The Japanese government said recently that Japan will require major manufacturers to use recycled plastics as part of its efforts to reduce plastic pollution and promote decarbonization.

Japan plans to amend the Law for Promotion of Effective Utilization of Resources as early as next year's regular parliamentary session. It is expected that the revision will require manufacturers to set specific goals for the use of recycled plastics and report results regularly. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry proposed the above plan at an expert meeting on the same day, and the meeting also discussed ways to effectively utilize limited resources.

According to Article 5 of the EU Basic Anti-dumping Regulation, the European Commission received a complaint from the Special Alliance of Epoxy Resin Producers, alleging that epoxy resin products from China, South Korea, Taiwan, China and Thailand are dumped, causing damage to related industries in the European Union.

This is the second major economy to conduct a similar investigation on Chinese epoxy resin products this year, following the United States' anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation on Chinese epoxy resin products on April 3.