General News

Tokyo to Offer Subsidies to Garbage Disposal Facility Operators in an Effort to Prevent Battery-Related Fires

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
A worker checks whether electric appliances with lithium-ion batteries have been discarded at a garbage disposal facility in Tama, Tokyo, in July 2022.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:24 JST, January 15, 2026

The Tokyo metropolitan government said Wednesday it will provide subsidies to municipalities and other entities for the introduction of equipment at garbage disposal facilities that will detect lithium-ion batteries to prevent battery-related fires.

The initiative is aimed at preventing facilities from shutting down due to fires involving the combustion of lithium-ion batteries in power banks and other devices.

The metropolitan government will earmark ¥1.3 billion in the fiscal 2026 budget as a new initiative. It was decided after the governor’s assessment on Wednesday.

The subsidy cap for the introduction of the equipment is ¥20 million for large industrial waste disposal companies, municipal governments and cooperatives for shared administrative works, and ¥27 million for small and midsize businesses.

Also on Wednesday, members of each party in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly — the Tokyo-based regional party Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group), the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the Democratic Party for the People — met separately with Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and requested her to make the basic water rate free again this summer.

Similar requests were made by other parties, including the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, last year.

The metropolitan government made the basic water rate free for a four-month period between June and October, depending on the location. The initiative was aimed at encouraging people to use their air conditioners at home to prevent heatstroke, as there were those who died at home after refraining from using their air conditioners to keep their electricity bills down amid rising prices.

In response to the latest requests, Koike indicated her intention to positively consider offering the basic water rate for free by saying, “I want to take these requests seriously, as they are to protect the health and livelihoods of Tokyo residents.”