Overview of Wastewater Treatment in Japan

Edited by:

Mamoru Nagoya

JETRO San Francisco

Project Coordinator, Business Development

*The latest information is that of FY 2006

Summary

In Japan, 70% of water is served by sewage removal and treatment facilities. Although the
construction of new water supply facilities are not necessary, demand for the renovation or
reconstruction of existing is expected to be high. The revision of the water Works Law1 of 2002 has
paved the way for privatization of water supply business, which has resulted in more opportunities
for foreign companies to manage and maintain facilities. JETRO is pleased to assist U.S
companies interested in entering or expanding their business in the Japanese market.

Market Opportunity

Even though construction of new water supply facilities may not be required, there will be demand
for renovation of existing facilities throughout Japan. Majority of Japan’s water facilities were
constructed in the post World War II era and renovation of these facilities will be needed in the
years to come. Furthermore, these renovations will require investment to introduce advanced water
treatment systems.

Japan depends on surface water for 78% of its raw water supply. Recently, surface water quality
has deteriorated for a number of reasons, for example: residential and industrial developments
causing water from sewage systems to spill in rivers and lakes. From this, there is a strong demand
for advanced treatment systems to produce portable water. The revised Water Works Law in 2002
has enabled various water utilities to contract their operation management and quality management
to other utilities or qualified organizations.

Japan’s Domestic Wastewater Treatment

In Japan, domestic wastewater is roughly classified as:

- Human waste discharged from toilets

- Wastewater discharged from kitchens and bathrooms

Domestic wastewater are treated through wastewater facilities, rural community sewerage, and the
in site treatment system.

At the end of FY 2006, Japan’s coverage rate of domestic wastewater treatment among the
population was 82.4% (70.5% from sewage facilities, 2.8% from rural community sewerage, and
9.1% from in site treatment system). In any event, kitchens and bathrooms discharge of more than
17.6% per capita was discharged without treatment. To improve this, the priority to expand the
wastewater treatment system in rural areas includes:

- Development of wastewater treatment technologies

1
http://www8.cao.go.jp/kisei-kaikaku/oto/otodb/english/houseido/hou/lh_06020.html
 - Reduction and recycling of sewage sludge

- Development of rainwater control systems

- Improvement of sewer infrastructure

- Increased level of recycled water

- Improved efficiencies in and management of existing sewage facilities

- Investment in the rehabilitation, renovation, and reconstruction of sewage facilities

I. History of Japan’s Wastewater Treatment

On-site wastewater treatment is a wastewater treatment technology that was developed uniquely in
Japan after World War II. In Japan, human waste was treated as manure for a long period of time.
Yet, because chemical fertilizers were popularized after World War II and there was increasing
demand for flush toilets; on-site treatment facilities without the need for pipes became widespread.
At first, a simple treatment process like the trickling filter process and the horizontal oxidation
process were adopted. However, in order to achieve stable treatment performance, the contact
aeration process came into widespread use. In the 1980s much larger scale wastewater treatment
facilities were constructed in order to prevent water pollution. On-site treatment systems for human
waste from toilets were installed in individual houses. The settling separation contact aeration
process is common as a treatment process, and treatment system made of reinforced concrete was
originally field-installed at the site, but factory-produced fiber-reinforced plastics are mainly used
now. An advanced treatment-type system that can remove nitrogen and phosphor was recently
developed.

In Japan, domestic wastewater treatment has been carried out with sewage facilities as a base with
the help of on-site wastewater treatment and rural community sewerage. Since these facilities costs
enormous amount of money to operate, a low-cost treatment system that requires minimum
maintenance has recently become a high demand in Japan. From this, the soil covered gravel
contact aeration process has been drawing many attentions.

At present, the soil covered gravel contact aeration process has been increasingly adopted as a
treatment process by local governments overseeing sewerage services. This process was originally
developed for on-site wastewater treatment 25 years ago, and it has recently been adopted for
sewage treatment facilities. In addition, the soil trench process was developed in Japan as a process
that requires low construction and maintenance costs. However, the process is not commonly used
because it requires large surface area for treatment.

In the U.S, the constructed wetlands have recently been utilized as small-scale domestic wastewater
treatment facilities, and technological developments are actively being progressed. Japan has just
started conducting studies including verification tests concerning livestock wastewater treatment
and the treatment of disused mine effluents as treatment technology.

II. Industrial Wastewater

Industrial wastewater results from various industrial and commercial activities. Japan has two sets
of legislation to deal with such wastewater. The Water pollution Control Law (WPCL) designates
facilities that emit hazardous wastewater as Specified Facilities while the Sewage Law refers to
those same facilities as Specified Business Premises. The Sewage Law requires facilities to install
equipment that will treat wastewater, keeping it within levels that do not adversely affect the quality
of the sewage.

III. Opportunity

The following U.S equipment and service providers may find the best prospects in the following
areas:

- Water Purification system to kill chlorine-resistant, waterborne pathogenic microorganisms

- Next-generation water purification technology that kills bacteria resistant to antibiotics

- Technology to eliminate traces of hazardous materials such as dioxins and endocrine

disruptors

- Rust removal and anticorrosion lining for water supply pipes

- Rehabilitation and life extension technology for water supply pipes

- Micro Filtration membrane

- Ultra Filtration membrane

- Reverse Osmosis membrane

- Ion-exchange resin

- Solid-liquid separators: screen, precipitator, floating separator, clarifier, etc

- Physical chemical treatment equipment: pH controlling equipment, oxidation-reduction

equipment, extractor, absorption equipment, ion-exchanger, electro-dialysis equipment,
ferrite treatment equipment, de-aerator, etc

- Biological chemical treatment equipment; activated sludge treatment equipment, trickling

filter, rotating biological contactor, contact aeration equipment, anaerobic digestion
equipment, biological nitrogen removal equipment, biological treatment equipment, lagoon,
etc
 - Deodorizing equipment

- Biomass gas recovery from sewage sludge and power generation

Japanese Water related Key Business Players and Suppliers

Water related businesses in Japan are classified into three categories: EPC (Engineering,
Procurement and Construction) companies, system suppliers and product suppliers. Some of the
top key players in these categories in Japan are:

EPC companies:

- Ebara Corporation

- Kubota Corporation

- Hitachi Plant Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd

- Tsukishima Kikai Co

- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

- Sumitomo Heavy Industries

System suppliers:

- Toshiba Corporation

- Hitachi, Ltd

- Fuji Electric Holding Co., Ltd

Product suppliers:

- Ebara Corporation

- Hitachi, Ltd

- Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd

- Nitto Denko Corporation

- Kubota Corporation

- JFE Engineering Corporation

Distribution

In general, treated water is distributed to individual users by cities. There are cases where
prefectures treat water and then supply it to groups of small cities, towns, and villages. In general,
prefectures and cities are prospective buyers for suck treated water. For construction of water
treatment and supply facilities, the Japanese government has encouraged a move from traditional
bundled contracts to separate procurements for water supply systems there are: civil engineering
and constructions, equipment, and electrical equipment.

The Japan Sewage Works Agency (JSWA) constructs and manages terminal sewage treatment
facilities based on contracts with municipal governments. JSWA was established with equal
participation from the central and local governments but is now fully owned by local governments.
JSWA has constructed about 60% of Japan’s total sewage facilities.

Trade Shows

Sewage Works Exhibition

Organizer: Japan Sewage Works Association

Visitors: 100,000

Frequency: Annual

Note: 2009 exhibition was in July

2010 Schedule: TBA

N-EXPO

Organizer: Nippo Co., Ltd

Visitors: 154,000

Frequency: Annual

Link: http://www.nippo.co.jp/eng/n-expo009/ (2009 show)

Note: JETRO invitation program2

2010 Schedule: TBA

Green Device 2010

Organizer: NikkeiBP

Visitors: 60,000

Frequency: Annual

Period: November 10-12, 2010

Venue: Makuhari Messe, Japan

Link; http://expo.nikkeibp.co.jp/greend/2010/english/

Note: JETRO Invitation Program

2
JETRO invites foreign companies to exhibit at specific trade shows in Japan. For this invitation program, JETRO compensates
qualified companies’ booth space, round trip air fee (1 person per company), hotel fee (1 person per company) and transportation fee (1
person per company).
Sources:

Japan Water Works Association (JWWA)

Address: 4-8-9- Kudan Minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0074

Tel: 81-3-3264-2281, Fax: 81-3-3262-2244

Website: http://www.jwwa.or.jp/

Japan Water Research Center

Address: Toranomon Denki Bldg. 2-8-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001

Tel: 81-3-3597-0221, Fax: 81-3-3597-0215

Website: http://www.jwrc-net.or.jp/english/index.html

Federation of Japan Water industries, Inc.

Address: 3F, Nippon Suido Kaikan, 4-8-9 Kudan Minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0074

Tel: 81-3-3264-1654, Fax: 81-3-3239-6369

Website: http://www.suidanren.or.jp

Japan Water Agency

Address: 11-2 Shintoshin, Chuo-ku, Saitama 330-6008

Tel: 048-600-6500

Website: http://www.water.go.jp/honsya/honsya/english/top.html

Association of Water and Sewerage Works Consultants

Address: 4-8-7 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0032

Tel: 03-3403-0250, Fax: 03-3406-0252

Website: http://www.suikon.or.jp
Japan Institute of Wastewater Engineering Technology

Address: Suido-cho Bldg. 7F, 3-1 Suido-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0811

Tel: 03-5228-6511, Fax: 03-5228-6512

Website: http://www.jiwet.or.jp/english/

Sewerage Business Management Center

Address: Yushimadai Bldg. 2F, 2-31-27 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0034

Tel: 03-5842-3313, Fax: 03-3815-3941

Website: http://www.sbmc.or.jp/english/index.html

Reference

Kobayashi, Kenji. "Japan: Water and Wastewater Industry Overview." U.S Commercial Service.
05/2008. U.S Commercial Service, Web. 17 Dec 2009. <export.gov>.

Mizuochi, Motoyuki. "Small-Scale Domestic Wastewater Treatment Technology in Japan, and the
Possibility of Technological Transfer." Asian Environment Research Group,
National Institute for Environmental Studies, Japan, Web. 17 Dec 2009.