Mumbai: The Versova beach cleanup had a distinguished volunteer in Arai Katsutomo, Commanding Officer of the Japanese Naval ship JS Akebono, who donned gloves with his fatigues and picked up marine debris for an hour on Saturday. Japanese Consul General Yagi Koji in Mumbai and others joined him. Impressed by the relentless efforts of Mumbai advocate Afroz Shah and his team to reduce marine litter, Katsutomo said the cooperation and work of the swathe of volunteers were helping not just one beach but globally the marine ecology.”When I arrived here, there was little garbage, but now it’s all clear,” said the Commanding Officer, adding how everyone present should be proud, as he was, to be there.Yagi said, “Today is a special Japan-India day. There are nearly 50 Japanese nationals participating in the cleanup activity.”Around 12 tons of plastic were picked up, said Shah, stressing how, going ahead, proper litter disposal and recycling are key. Japan too has a custom, ‘mottainai’, which encourages reusing things, a philosophy that engrains regret over waste and values resources, Arai later told TOI.
AloJapan.com