Share of people with access to wastewater treatment Japan FY 2021, by prefecture

In 2021, close to 100 percent of the population in Tokyo Prefecture in Japan had access to wastewater treatment. By comparison, only around 66 percent of the citizens in Tokushima Prefecture had access to wastewater treatment.

Wastewater treatment

The overall percentage of population served by wastewater treatment systems in Japan reached around 92.6 percent in the same year, indicating a steady increase. This implies that approximately 11 million people had no access to wastewater treatment. In the municipalities with less than 50 thousand inhabitants, around 81 percent of the population received wastewater treatment. In terms of types of treatment, most citizens in Japan were served with sewage lines. A minority of under ten percent was served with septic tanks, agricultural drainage facilities, and less than one percent were with community wastewater treatment plants.

Sewage lines

In 2021, the share of population with access to sewage treatment facilities in Japan amounted to around 80.6 percent. The prefectures with the lowest accessibility rate of sewage treatment were Tokushima and Wakayama Prefecture. Following the increasing number of marine pollution cases alongside with the rapid industrialization, the Japanese government enacted the Water Pollution Prevention Act in 1970. Sewage lines available in the country are regulated under this act.