Sanitation covers a wide range of areas, including wastewater treatment, stormwater drainage, and the collection and treatment of human waste. In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region—and, of course, in Japan as well—multiple departments are sometimes involved in the broad spectrum of sanitation-related activities to ensure comprehensive and sophisticated management.
It is common for relevant departments to operate in isolation or be managed by different ministries, and coordination between organizations is often inadequate. In cases where sanitation is managed in a fragmented manner by multiple ministries, the lack of effective coordination and strong policies among them often results in a weak, comprehensive approach to sanitation-related issues. Furthermore, while the management of sanitation facilities is typically entrusted to cities and local governments, capacity building for the operating organizations consequently becomes a critical challenge.
In Japan, even though sanitation is managed by two ministries—the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) for off-site treatment and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) for on-site treatment—issues related to public health and pollution of public waterways have been addressed relatively quickly and effectively. While this experience is rare in the Asia-Pacific region, we believe that the policies, legal frameworks, operational systems, management practices, and technologies adopted and developed in Japan can serve as valuable references for other countries facing sanitation challenges.
Established in 2009, the JSC aims to promote sanitation systems that appropriately collect and treat wastewater, stormwater, and human waste. JSC covers both on-site and off-site treatment and is a unique organization that possesses the comprehensive knowledge, policy-making experience, and system management and operational management technologies cultivated by its four constituent organizations over more than 40 years of wastewater management and human waste collection and treatment in Japan.
JSC works in close collaboration with experts from research institutions, government ministries and agencies, partner organizations, and NGOs (such as the Japan Water Forum, the Organization for the Promotion of New Sewerage Technologies, UNICEF Tokyo Office, and the Japan Toilet Research Institute), and its secretariat is composed of experts from the organizations listed below. Furthermore, in our activities, we maintain close cooperative relationships with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and local organizations.
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