Japan and Taiwan collaboration toward a circular society: Circular design study tour in Japan organized by the Taiwan Design Research Institute

In recent years, Taiwan has positioned the promotion of the circular economy as an important policy and has been advancing efforts to build a circular society starting from the design and manufacturing stages. With the aim of further strengthening these circular design initiatives, in the summer of 2025, Harch planned and operated a circular design study tour in Japan at the request of the Taiwan Design Research Institute (hereafter, TDRI), a government affiliated design promotion organization in Taiwan.

This study tour was arranged and coordinated by Harch in response to a request from TDRI. Over four days from Monday, August 25 to Thursday, August 28, participants visited municipalities, companies, and other organizations in the Tokyo metropolitan area that are engaged in advanced initiatives. On the final day, a networking session was held with the aim of strengthening collaboration between Japan and Taiwan toward the realization of a circular society. Throughout the program, active exchanges of ideas took place between participants from both countries, marking a meaningful first step toward future collaboration and new forms of partnership.

Overview of the study tour

Approximately 20 participants took part in the tour, including the president and vice president of TDRI, leaders responsible for circular design initiatives, as well as companies, manufacturers, and designers from Taiwan who are actively engaged in circular businesses. Based on requests from the Taiwan side, visits to each organization were conducted following proposals and coordination by Harch.

Reflections after the study tour (selected participant comments)

One of the participants, Ms. Li Chin Wang, founder of Mirai Style Co., Ltd., shared the following reflections after completing the four day program.

“I was given an opportunity to reconsider how the philosophy of circular design can be expressed at points of contact with consumers. In particular, I was impressed by how international brands were integrating sustainability not only into product development, but also into material selection, package design, and brand storytelling. As an organization, we would like to move forward with initiatives such as communicating the stories of circular materials in retail spaces and exhibitions, and encouraging greater transparency around material traceability and recycling structures among the brands we work with.”

Other participants also shared comments such as, “I was able to better understand how industry, government, and academia in Japan are working on the circular economy,” “The experience strengthened my confidence in a sustainable future,” and “I would like to further promote circular design in my own projects going forward.”

We would like to once again express our sincere appreciation to all the organizations that welcomed the study tour and to everyone who participated in the networking session. Using this study tour as a starting point, we will continue to work together so that Japan and Taiwan can further expand their efforts toward realizing a circular society.

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