Shibuya Ward and Tokyu Fudosan Holdings announced Wednesday the launch of the ¡°Umbrella-free city Shibuya¡± initiative, in a bid to cut plastic waste and carbon emissions.

Partnering with Aikasa, an umbrella-sharing service available at various stations and locations, the ward announced that it aims to set up 150 umbrella stands within a 600-meter radius of Shibuya station ¡ª surpassing the number of convenience stores in the vicinity. The company also announced that it will begin a full-scale provision of umbrellas made of 100% recycled plastic bottles.

Shibuya plans to have around 100 stands by the end of July and 50 more by the end of August in areas with a lot of foot traffic, such as Shibuya station, universities, offices and shopping centers. Currently, there are 25 stands in the vicinity of the station.

The initiative envisions a reduction of 76.1 tons in carbon dioxide emissions and 29.1 tons in waste per year, based on projections that the area will have 110 rainy days and that rental umbrellas will be used 110,000 times.

Shoji Marukawa, president of Nature Innovation Group, which owns Aikasa, said that the purpose of having so many stands is to make the service as convenient as possible for users.

Shibuya Mayor Ken Hasebe said he hopes the initiative will help Shibuya take the lead in reducing both plastic waste and carbon dioxide emissions.

¡°The use of (the service) is linked to waste reduction as evidenced by the (projection) numbers. I hope that everyone who visits the town will make good use of this system when it suddenly rains and you don¡¯t have your umbrella with you,¡± Hasebe told a media briefing.

Shibuya was chosen as a testing ground not only because Aikasa was established in the area, but also because Shibuya has a significant waste problem, Marukawa said.

The umbrella-sharing service is available in 1,500 locations across the nation. The service is also available at roughly 1 in 2 stations in Tokyo, totaling 340 stations.

The cost of the service is ?140 for 24-hour use and ?280 for a monthly subscription, which allows individuals to borrow up to two umbrellas each time.

The service, the first of its kind in the country, was established in 2018 by Nature Innovation Group. Currently, Aikasa has over 550,000 registered users and offers the service throughout Tokyo, as well as in 12 prefectures including Aichi, Okayama, Fukuoka and Saga.

According to the Japan Umbrella Promotion Association, an estimated 120 to 130 million umbrellas are purchased per year in Japan.