2. Why we adopted the services: to share the litter problem, a source of marine litter, across the prefecture

Why did you adopt the Pirika for Governments visualization page?

The main reason was to spread actions that help solve environmental problems, such as cleanups and efforts against marine litter, among people of all ages in Gifu, especially young people.

Marine litter drew attention after the G20 Osaka Blue Ocean Vision. Gifu also takes care of its beautiful rivers as the "Land of Clear Streams." So, although Gifu is an inland prefecture, we made a regional plan to tackle marine litter. Our prefectural survey on the environment showed that:

• Fewer than 1 in 10 people in their 20s take part in cleanups

• 4 in 10 people feel they "do not know what to do" about environmental problems

We had been raising awareness of environmental problems, but the message was not reaching enough people, especially the young.

While looking for ways to reach young people, we gave a talk at a university and asked, "What would make you join a cleanup?" Some said, "We could do it through a social network like the ones we use every day." We then looked for cleanup tools and found the Pirika App. It feels like a game, so we thought young people could join easily, and we decided to use it.

You first adopted Takanome (walking version). Why?

When we ask people to clean up, it helps them if a map shows where to start and how much cleaner the place has become. We thought this would also help us reach young people, as I said earlier.

With environmental problems, it is hard to see what the problem is and how big it is, or what actions we need to take. To solve this, we felt it was important to see the current state of litter on a map, so that we can understand and share the problem. We also thought that seeing the results of cleanups would motivate people ("look how much we did") and make cleanups more active.

What changed for residents and the prefectural office after adopting Takanome (walking version)?

We could see the geographic spread of litter and get quantitative data, so we could share the problem.

In November 2022, to prepare our regional plan against marine litter, we ran our first Takanome survey. It showed a lot of paper litter around barbecue sites. We can now give this information to local people who do cleanups, to help them choose where to work. Until now we chose cleanup places by feel, so the Takanome data is useful.

If we record Takanome survey data after each cleanup over time, we can see the effect of cleanups. We expect this to help plan the next activity and raise motivation.

Some say the amount of litter collected shows how much litter is leaking out. Why did you adopt Takanome (car version)?

We needed to know the amount of litter in more detail and more accurately.

The vehicle survey showed more litter in places that residents and local government staff had not been aware of.

Another point was that, compared with records of litter collected by cleanup groups, the car version shows the spread of litter at a finer, point-by-point level, using the same standard across all areas.

Also, Pirika for Governments shows where more litter is being collected. But that alone leaves a doubt: is more litter being collected because that area has more litter? On the other hand, measuring only the amount of litter on the ground may not show the true picture, because an area may be clean only because it was just cleaned. I think we can understand how much litter is really leaking out, and how well our measures work, only by measuring both the amount collected and the amount on the ground.

There was no precedent. Was it hard to adopt Takanome (car version)?

No. The push for digital transformation helped. With government services going digital, we plan to use Takanome (car version) together with the Pirika App, which helps more young people join cleanups.

3.  With Pirika, people pick up litter outside events too

How did residents react to the Takanome vehicle survey?

The survey vehicle carries a sticker saying "Littering survey in progress," so people understood, and we could survey without problems. Our staff had worried about complaints like "What are you filming?", but none came.
It was the same with the walking version: nobody was suspicious. There were no privacy problems, and we could carry out the survey with people's understanding.

Showing the Takanome walking and vehicle survey results on the Pirika for Governments visualization page was a first in Japan. What was the background?

By showing the spread of litter found in the survey, we hope residents will learn about litter in their area and become more aware of marine litter. We also want to encourage voluntary cleanups across all of Gifu. Using the visualization page, we hope to hold cleanups with environmental learning together with municipalities, and to work with coastal prefectures to reduce marine litter.

I believe this approach will bring more people to pick up litter.

 How have people reacted to the Pirika App?

Residents tell us, "It feels like a game, and picking up litter is fun." They also like the communication side: after posting, you quickly get many "thank yous."

High school students and NPOs use Pirika in river-basin cleanups. Some said, "After trying it once, my attitude changed. Even outside cleanup events, I pick up litter when I see it."

In October 2022, we also held a joint event on the same day as Toyama Prefecture, which also uses Pirika for Governments. I think this was possible because the Pirika App made it easy to invite people to join.