The ‘Washed-Ashore Articles Disposal Promotion Act’* was enacted in July 2009 and includes measures necessary to promote smooth disposal of marine litter and reduction of marine litter input. Given that the prefectures of Japan were required to formulate regional plans which were to specifically identify priority areas where measures against marine litter were to be promoted, as well as the details of those measures, role sharing and cooperation between concerned groups, and points to consider in implementing measures against marine litter, in March 2011 Toyama Prefecture Government formulated the ‘Toyama Prefectural Regional Plan for the Promotion of Measures against Marine Litter’.