The Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, Inger Andersen, met with Japanese Environment Minister Nishimura Akihiro during his visit to Japan. The two have confirmed the importance of a multi-national framework to reduce plastic waste in the world's oceans.

The first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee will be held in Uruguay next month to develop an international instrument to reduce plastic pollution in the marine environment. Andersen and Nishimura confirmed the importance of such a framework at today's meeting.

A study suggests about eight million tons of plastic waste is flowing into the world's oceans per year, and there is a risk to the marine ecology.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee will aim to develop a draft of a legally binding instrument on plastic pollution by 2024.

Nishimura said there is a growing interest in plastic pollution as a global challenge. He says he wants to stress the importance of building an effective international framework featuring countries that consume plastic materials and produce a large amount of plastic waste.