Useful, well thought-out, and an aesthetic. Japanese stationery adds color and life to what would have been a grey, plain writing arsenal. They are precision-engineered to be the best at what they do; and when excellence is not the goal, invention becomes the mission. Items introduced yearly as new tools of convenience, ones which past human ingenuity has never thought of doing—so much so that they have won awards! Yet fortunately as well, this pursuit for innovation is not at the expense of the planet, as Japanese stationery is also designed with the environment in mind. So how do they function?
- What’s Special About Japanese Stationery?
- Notable Eco-friendly Japanese Stationery
- Japan Runs Awards for Stationery?
- The Verdict on Japan Stationery
What’s Special About Japanese Stationery?
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Japanese stationery is known & beloved for doing its job, really-really well. Writing with Japanese-made pens and pencils is smooth and lets out dark, saturated ink; notebooks stay flat open making writing easier; and erasers that quickly eliminate almost 99% of mistakes and leave no trace in the process.
But, of course, Japanese stationery’s appeal goes beyond just practicality: they’re known to be cute! But sometimes also for being downright comical and absurd. On one side of the spectrum, they have UFO-shaped pencil cases, stamps that print emotes of otters and shiba inus, and plump, bread sticky notes. On the other end, though, are obscure doodads like a five-in-one scissor to shred innocent konbini receipts, and a jumbo plastic eraser almost the size of a whole human baby.
But in-between the adorable and loony, Japanese stationery stands out for its sustainability, with an armada of brands constantly striving to create eco-friendly products without sacrificing design. In fact, some products’ eco-friendliness adds to the design!
Notable Eco-friendly Japanese Stationery
I have found these stationery very easily through Amazon, and they are surprisingly quite cheap! Ranging from ¥300-¥500, some costing ¥1,000 but come with three items. Here are a few of my picks for sustainable stationery:
Eco Adhesives
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Tombow’s PiT AIR Recycled Fishing Nets glue tapes—as the overly-long name implies—are unique because they are made out of fishing nets! Nets that are past their best use are collected and washed, recycled into resin, and then molded into the tape’s encasing. They come with six different designs of various aquatic life, like whales, seals, and sea turtles.
There is also Kokuyo’s Gloo, which is different from glue tapes, and is a refillable glue. There are two ways you can replenish it: by keeping the cap only and replacing the bottle, or by keeping the bottle as well and replenishing them using liquid refills.
Staple-Less Stapler
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Kokuyo also makes a stapler without requiring staples, called Harinacs. Instead of poking a hole with a piece of metal, this stapler binds the paper with itself. This is useful in cases when you need to unstaple the paper without ripping the paper accidentally, or when you need to shred documents without worrying about metal getting mixed in. Moreover, it technically can “infinitely” staple without ever running out of ammo, saving money for the user.
Dust Free Erasers
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The Tombow Mono Dust Catch is an eraser designed to catch leftover dust, leaving no mess behind. While it doesn’t literally “catch,” it’s more like the eraser preventing crumbs from crumbling and maintaining them as a single clump. This ensures cleanliness, and more importantly, reduces exposure to rubber residue, which helps people who have latex allergy. Adding to that, the paper sleeve is made out of recycled paper, adding to its eco-friendliness.
Now if you want an eraser that actually catches eraser dust, then how about a magnetic eraser! The Kutsuwa Zi-Keshi Magnetic Poppies is a ferromagnetic eraser that picks up eraser dust with a magnet. The eraser’s label comes in various designs, with the most memorable being the ones that resemble bald-old grandpas and salarymen—so as you catch the eraser dust, it looks like you’re giving them hair!
Biodegradable Paper Products
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If you like arts & crafts, then you might have heard of washi tape. But for those unfamiliar, they are essentially decorative masking tape made from traditional Japanese washi paper. It is often used for gift wrapping, artworks, and decorating journals thanks to the wide variety of colors and patterns—with some even resembling traditional Japanese designs, like those by mt Masking Tape. Washi tape is comparably a more sustainable (and arguably a prettier) option than standard masking tapes as its natural fibers are biodegradable and recyclable.
There are also journals and origami made from bamboo called Takegami. The papers have a similar texture to conventional papers yet are more durable. They are made as an alternative to wood to help forest conservation while promoting bamboo as a new economic resource in bamboo-abundant regions.
Pure Wooden Writing Utensils
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We definitely have to mention Muji when it comes to sustainable Japanese stationery! They have colored pencils that are left unpainted to show the natural wood shaft but also to reduce the use of environmentally unfriendly paint coatings. These also come in recycled paper tubes. However, admittedly Muji seems a bit overpriced when compared to the other stationery in this list.
Pencils aren’t the only wooden writing tool here—pens can be too! The Pilot Legno 2+1 pen features a shaft made from hard maple wood, which were leftovers from baseball bat manufacturing. The baseball bat-based wood makes for a great handle and grips well, so much so that it has won the 2023 Japanese Stationery Award as the most multifunctional pen. Oh, and yeah, Japan holds a yearly award for stationery!
Japan Runs Awards for Stationery?
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Yes! They do! It is called 文房具屋さん大賞 (ぶんぼうぐやさんたいしょう), or more aptly named “The Stationary Awards”. Hosted by Fusosha (扶桑社), the awards have been held annually since 2013, and are now onto with their 2025’s.
Below are just a few award winners, and like the one before, some doubles as sustainable stationery!
Mitsubishi Pens
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Turns out even Mitsubishi makes pens! Their Uniball One P pens have received two awards: nationally as the best design in 2024’s Stationary Awards, and internationally as the blackest gel ink ball pen according to Guinness World Records! With two acclaimed awards, it’s no wonder it became an “idol” in Japanese social media.
Not-For-Hair Book Clip
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The Ukanmuri book clipper won best idea in 2024, and for good reasons. This may resemble a hair clip, but is actually meant for books! It’s to hold your books flat open to make it easier to read. Its elegant design also resembles the top of the kanji 家 (ie, meaning house) when clipped. Can you see it? And of course with all award-winning stationery, this too, was booming on social media. It became so popular that at one point it went out of stock for months.
Notebooks for Neurodivergent Needs
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Conventional products in the market are not accessible to most people with special needs, giving them difficulties in everyday situations. Fortunately, more and more items nowadays offer more accessibility and a peace of mind. The Mahora notebook from Ogura Paperworks is created for people with learning disabilities in mind, and has won best design in 2022’s Stationery Awards. The paper comes in soft lemon and lavender colors, so that it does not reflect light to sensitive eyes. Additionally, it provides note-taking layouts that are easier to look at and focus on, such as writing on blocks instead of traditional thinly-spaced lines.
The Verdict on Japan Stationery
Japanese stationery is truly remarkable, creative, and ingenious. Designed and engineered to blend all factors of design appeal, innovation, and fun, it’s no wonder it is beloved by many and has enthusiasts all over the world. The existence of the Stationary Awards also helps further drive research on not only making the best-quality, but also sustainable and accessible products.
One personal criticism I have with these, though, is the fact that they all still are packaged in plastic, defeating the point of being made with recycled or eco-friendly materials. That is one element that Japan continues to struggle with plastic packaging, and is an ongoing issue in not only stationery but also across many types of products. I hope that one day this will change in the future, to a point of time when Japanese stationery could finally be considered 100% sustainable.
Related articles:
- Muji Japan: Simple and Quality Products From Japan to the World
- The Essential Guide to Zero Waste Shopping in Japan
- The Long-Lasting Legacy of Washi Paper and Its Influence on Japanese Life
The Long-Lasting Legacy of Washi Paper and Its Influence on Japanese Life
Featured image credit: Photo taken by the author
