TOKYO (AP) — Japan has a plastic problem.

Almost everything, from single bananas to individual pieces of vegetables, pastries, pens and cosmetics is sold plastic-wrapped. But as world leaders gather in Osaka for the two-day G-20 summit starting Friday, Japan has an ambition to become a leader in reducing plastic waste.

G-20 nations produce half the world's plastic waste, and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who will chair the summit, has made fixing the problem a top initiative at the summit and in Japan.

While the leaders try to tackle the global challenge, Japan is beginning to recognize its own difficulties.

One of the world's biggest consumers of plastic packaging, Japan is finally moving to ban plastic shopping bags, a measure already taken by dozens of countries in Europe and elsewhere.