TOKYO — Japan will urge citizens to carry their own chopsticks instead of using disposable ones and go shopping with their own bags instead of using plastic ones, in a bid to more than halve the garbage it produces.

The Cabinet approved a set of plans today to promote recycling, said Tsuyoshi Kawakami, an official in charge of recycling at the Environment Ministry.

Japan aims to reduce the total amount of garbage produced by industries and individuals to 25.3 million tons — 40 percent of the amount produced in fiscal 2000 — by fiscal 2015 under the plan posted on the ministry's Web site. The fiscal year begins in April in Japan.

The government target for individuals was a reduction of 20 percent.

"We are still lacking efforts. We have not been able to break away from the mass consumption society," Kawakami said.

Stores in Japan normally hand out plastic and paper bags, while gifts are typically wrapped in elaborate packaging. Environmentalists criticize the wide use of disposable wooden chopsticks in the country.

The adopted plans also encourage people to use public transportation and ride bicycles.