The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund
Introduction to Grant Projects
Arakawa River Clean-aid Forum (NPO)
Considering measures to reduce marine waste by studying the urban Arakawa River
Activity grant
- Project Description
It's said that a certain amont of marine waste is derived from urban waste that flows into the sea along riverbeds. Marine waste generated in Japan is estimated at 20,000 to 60,000 tons, but these calculations are based on data collected overseas, and there have been almost no case studies on the amount of urban (river) waste generated per unit of population in Japan. This project seeks to cooperate with various actors in order to survey the waste that is generated in riverside towns and ends up in the tributaries of the Arakawa River, and ascertain the amount of waste generated per unit of population. Additionally, it seeks to investigate the origins of river and marine waste, using the Arakawa River as its subject. Furthermore, it will involve a cleanup event that will serve to raise awareness about river and marine waste among citizens. [No. K19-0033]
Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund FY2019 Activity Grants List (PDF 470KB)
- Fields
- Global Environment
- Grant year
- FY2019 Activity Grants
- Grant term
- 3 years (April 2020 - March 2023)
- Grant amount
- ¥4,000,000
- Activity region
- The Arakawa basin in Tokyo and Saitama Prefecture (mainly focused on downstream areas)

Overview of the Organization

- Project organization
- Arakawa River Clean-aid Forum (NPO)
- Representative
- Director/Secretary General: Kazuyuki Imamura
- Establishment
- 1997
- Establishment Purpose
-
- To foster familiarity with the Arakawa River through cleanup and to raise citizen awareness regarding environmental conservation
- To realize partnerships with other sectors including the administrative sector, local governments and corporations through the voluntary involvement of citizens
- To promote conservation activities focused on the Arakawa River among its residents and secure the rights of citizens to manage the river
- Recent Activities
- The Arakawa River Clean-aid Forum is an NPO that works to solve problems related to river and marine waste. It provides SDG training (in the form of experiential programs focused on certain social issues) for participants such as corporate employees and which centers on the management and coordination of cleanup activities that have been joined by as many as 12,000 participants up to 190 times per year.
- Staff
- Number of Full-time employees: 4 / Number of Part timers: 2 / Number of Members: 72(50 organizations)
- WEB site
- https://cleanaid.jp
- Voice of Representative
- Plastic waste flows through rivers and ends up in the sea, but the details of this process have not yet been thoroughly investigated. We aim to accumulate knowledge on the topic of river and marine waste.