Councils under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Environment Ministry have approved a report proposing that shoppers be charged for plastic or paper bags distributed at supermarkets and other stores, according to officials.
However, the proposal, presented by the ministries to a joint panel of the councils Monday, will not be part of a bill to be submitted to the current ordinary Diet session in mid-March to amend the Containers and Packaging Recycling Law.
Instead, it will be included in a guideline the Environment Ministry plans to outline based on the bill to reduce the use of packaging bags and containers.
The guideline would require retailers, including supermarkets, department stores and convenience stores, to set numerical targets to reduce the number of bags they distribute, the officials said, adding the ministries want retailers to start charging shoppers for bags in fiscal 2007.