KOJIMA Michikazu

Previous research

In the 1990s, I conducted research on environmental resource accounting and the environmental problems facing Indonesia. Since around 1999, I have conducted research on international trade of recyclable waste and secondhand goods, circular economy policies, and waste management in Asian countries. Also, starting around 2010, I began researching energy conservation policies in Asia. From 2018 to 2020, I investigated inter-municipal cooperation on waste management, while I was at the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) from 2018 to 2020. Also, since the second half of 2018, I have been engaged in research on the marine plastics debris.

Current research projects

I am currently working on topics related to international trade of recyclable wastes and the plastic pollution. I continue to collaborate with ERIA on projects related to the circular economy and marine plastics. On the topic of international recycling, I am studying the impacts of China’s import restrictions on recyclable wastes and how to promote resource recycling in global supply chains. As for the marine plastics problem, I am mainly studying policies to reduce single-use plastics, to increase recycling and to expand waste management services in developing countries.