On 3 February, Riko Morinaga, a recent high school graduate, spent her Saturday night differently from her usual weekends with friends. It was Setsubun, a Japanese holiday marking the transition into spring, and one of the nation’s biggest food waste days. Stores across Japan stockpile ehomaki sushi rolls for the occasion, but by the end of the night, countless rolls end up discarded. “Shops always provide what customers want, which means their shelves have to always be stocked,” Morinaga explains. “This contributes to the food loss problem.”
Last Setsubun, Morinaga and a dozen volunteers visited 101 convenience stores to record the number of leftover ehomaki rolls after 21:00. The results were staggering. At a FamilyMart near Shibuya train station at 21:06, Morinaga counted 72 rolls. At a nearby 7-Eleven at 21:18, she found 93 rolls.
Using the gathered data, Rumi Ide, an independent researcher, activist, and journalist who coordinated the survey, estimated that Japan’s 55,657 convenience stores discarded 947,121 ehomaki rolls worth 700-800 million yen ($4.5-5 million). Ide published these findings on Yahoo Japan to raise awareness about this hidden issue.
A Broader Problem
Ehomaki rolls symbolize a larger issue: the extensive food waste in Japan. The country’s convenience stores, known for their constant supply of perishable items like sushi, sandwiches, and pre-made dinners, significantly contribute to this problem. These stores, operating 24/7, generate a vast amount of waste. “Behind the convenience lies a huge amount of waste, which consumers are unaware of,” Ide points out.
When I joined Ide and Morinaga on an evening tour of Tokyo convenience stores, the shelves were packed with onigiri (rice balls), sandwiches, salads, microwave meals, and sweets. While some of these items would be sold before closing, many would be discarded. “Part of the problem is that we’ve normalized throwing food out,” Morinaga laments.
The Scope of Waste
Quantifying the exact size of the food waste problem is challenging as convenience store companies are often not transparent about their losses. Representatives from 7-Eleven Japan and Lawson, two major chains, declined to disclose their food waste figures. FamilyMart did not respond to interview requests but indicated on its website that its stores generate 56,367 tonnes of food waste daily. In 2020, the Japan Fair Trade Commission estimated that major convenience store chains throw away an average of 4.68 million yen ($30,000) of food per shop annually, resulting in a total loss exceeding 260 billion yen ($1.7 billion) yearly.
“It’s crazy that we’re throwing away so much,” Ide says. This is especially concerning given that Japan imports 63% of its food. Besides the financial waste, food loss contributes to climate change through emissions from production, transport, and disposal, as rubbish is primarily incinerated in Japan.
Commitment to Change
As part of its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Japan has pledged to halve its food waste to 4.9 million tonnes by 2030, compared to the 9.8 million tonnes in 2000. Although edible food waste has dropped from 6.4 million tonnes in 2012 to 5.23 million tonnes in 2021, activists argue that Japan must do more. They criticize the government for setting targets based on 2000 levels instead of 2015 levels, which were specified by the Sustainable Development Goals. “By backtracking to 2000, the government is taking a cheating approach,” Ide asserts.
Activists like Ide call for significant reforms, starting with reducing food waste in convenience stores. While some solutions are unique to Japan, others could be applied globally.
The Hidden Cost of Convenience
Ide’s journey into food waste activism began in 2011 after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Working for Kellogg Japan, she coordinated aid donations to evacuation centers and was shocked by the amount of food that ended up in the garbage. Bureaucratic hurdles, such as the lack of standardization across meals, often prevented food from reaching those in need. “I couldn’t understand why,” Ide recalls, shaking her head. “It was ridiculous.”
This experience led Ide to delve deeper into the problem. She eventually resigned from Kellogg to focus full-time on addressing food loss. Today, she is a well-known figure in Japan’s food waste movement, recognized for her media appearances, books, articles, and seminars.
For convenience store officials, however, Ide’s criticisms have made her a controversial figure. “She is one of the most disliked persons in the country,” says Masafumi Kawano, chairperson of the Employees Union of 7-Eleven Japan.
Firsthand Insights
Sakura Kinjo, another recent high school graduate working with Ide, took a part-time job at a convenience store in Osaka to gather firsthand insights. She witnessed the daily removal of 50-70 food items from shelves, including sushi, bento boxes, onigiri, sandwiches, and sweets. “Seeing all that needless waste makes my heart ache,” Kinjo says.
These items are discarded not because they have expired but because they have reached the two-thirds mark between production and expiration, ensuring customers receive the freshest products. “Some products you throw away three or four days before the expiry date,” Kinjo notes. Employees are not allowed to take home any of the discarded food, as shop owners prefer them to pay for it. Once, she did sneak a rice ball out of the garbage and “ate it out back so no one would see.”
Economic Burden
Consumers bear the cost of prematurely removing food from store shelves through higher prices and taxes for garbage disposal. “If people recognized that they spend a lot of money on food waste, I think their minds and attitudes would change,” Ide says.
For convenience store franchise owners, the economic impact is even more pronounced. Merchants purchase food from headquarters and cover most of the costs for any wasted items. A 7-Eleven spokesperson confirmed that merchants cover 85% of food waste costs, while headquarters covers just 15%. This system incentivizes headquarters to push franchises to over-order, driving food wastage.
Kawano explains that store owners face pressure to over-order daily items and seasonal products. During Setsubun, for example, 7-Eleven headquarters encouraged franchises to order 1.5 times the number of ehomaki sold the previous year. The same happens with Christmas cakes. “Every year, headquarters sets a [higher] target for Christmas cakes,” Kawano says. “That number must be met.”
Some merchants buy leftover seasonal items to minimize apparent waste and meet targets. This pressure can take a toll on their mental health, with some store managers resorting to suicide. Kawano recalls a 27-year-old colleague who took his life after failing to sell enough oden, a simmered savory dish. “It was his first year in the job, and he had been reprimanded for not achieving his target,” Kawano says.
Efforts for Change
Despite these challenges, some convenience stores are attempting to address food waste. In Tokyo’s Toshima ward, a Lawson store operates under the “Green Lawson” initiative, aiming to reduce waste. This store uses an AI system to predict the quantity and types of fresh foods to stock, factoring in weather forecasts, current events, and past sales. The AI also issues discounts to move unsold items off shelves. Other measures include recycling cooking oil, donating paper shopping bags, and providing a food bank for customers to donate non-perishable items.
However, customer support has been lukewarm, and the AI system sometimes struggles to balance reducing food waste with maintaining an attractive selection. Despite these challenges, Lawson has reduced food loss by 23% between 2018 and 2022.
Ide regards Lawson as the most progressive of Japan’s convenience store chains. Other companies have been slower to change, but positive developments are occurring. For instance, 7-Eleven now allows its franchises to issue discounts for food nearing its expiration.
Legislative and Structural Changes
Legislative changes also show promise. In 2019, Ide’s lobbying helped pass Japan’s Food Loss and Waste Act, encouraging national and local governments to tackle food waste. However, businesses often hesitate to donate non-expired products due to liability concerns. Kinjo advocates for a Japanese version of the US Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which protects food donors. She has already begun forming a working group to discuss legislative changes.
Changing the economics of food loss at convenience stores could further reduce waste. However, representatives from Lawson and 7-Eleven confirmed that neither company plans to alter their accounting systems. Kawano remains hopeful, citing a recent success where 7-Eleven merchants negotiated a lower sales goal for ehomaki rolls in 2024. “If we come together, we can make the situation better,” Kawano says. “It’s like a revolution.”