Japanese pulp and paper industry has been promoting the use of recovered paper as raw material. During the period from 1990 through 2007, recovered paper consumption increased by 4.8 million tons whereas woodpulp consumption declined. However, with the decreased demand for paper and paperboard due to the global recession triggered by the Lehman Shock in 2008, raw material consumption in 2009 and 2010 fell much below 2008 levels.

In 2010, 62.5 percent of raw material was secured by recovered paper, which was among the top in the world.