Lithium-Ion Battery Collection and Recycling Follow-Up

In recent years, products using lithium-ion batteries and other batteries have increased and diversified, resulting in more fires and other accidents at waste-processing facilities when these products are mixed into waste collected by municipalities.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications investigated the actual efforts of relevant organizations and, in June 2025, notified the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment that they should provide information for appropriate collection and disposal, foster and expand disposal operators capable of recycling lithium-ion batteries and other batteries, and add items subject to voluntary collection by product manufacturers and others.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment are advancing the necessary efforts related to the notifications to reduce fires and other accidents caused by lithium-ion batteries and other batteries in municipalities and to promote the recycling of lithium-ion batteries and other batteries.

To address challenges such as the costs associated with separate collection and establishing processing systems, information is being provided through briefings and collections of measures on demonstration results from model projects for wide-area collection involving multiple municipalities, as well as knowledge from industry organizations and others.

A budget has been allocated to support the introduction of equipment and other measures related to recycling, with the aim of fostering and expanding recycling business operators.

The enforcement ordinance of the Resource Effective Utilization Law was revised to add three items to the designated recycled products: power supply devices, including mobile batteries; mobile-phone devices, including smartphones; and heated tobacco devices. The revision took effect on April 1, 2026.