Japan Local Govts Recover Phosphorus from Sewage Sludge

Tokyo, May 9 (Jiji Press)--More Japanese local governments are extracting phosphorus from sewage sludge for fertilizer, aiming to reduce the country's reliance on imports amid increasing global prices reflecting the Middle East tensions.

Phosphorus, essential for crop cultivation, is imported almost entirely from abroad. Supply disruptions triggered by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 prompted the central government to promote fertilizer production from sewage sludge as part of efforts to strengthen food security.

Eight prefectural and municipal governments nationwide had 11 facilities to recover phosphorus from sewage sludge at the end of fiscal 2025, according to the infrastructure ministry.

Of the eight, Tokyo began operating a recovery system in January 2024 at its Sunamachi Water Reclamation Center in Koto Ward.

The Japanese capital tested vegetable cultivation using fertilizer derived from recycled phosphorus. Its effects were "comparable" to those of conventional fertilizer, a metropolitan government official said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]