“Recycling and World Economy”(Cyuko Shinsho, 2018)

Michikazu Kojima(Senior Economist Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia)

I am very honored to receive Ohira Masayoshi Memorial Award. The award-winning “Recycling and the World Economy” is a result of several researches since 1998 on international trade of recyclable wastes and used goods. From the end of 2017, China, which had imported a large amount of recyclable waste such as waste plastics and waste papers, tightened import restrictions. It was good to issue this publication, when public concern on international trade of recyclable waste was raised. At the beginning of planning this book, I was not able to imagine such situation. I hope that that readers will gain some insights of the importance of international recycling, in the era of economic globalization. 　I think that this book was not able to be written, if I did not join in the Institute of Developing Economies. I learn a lot from research projects in IDE. I learned the importance of research overviewing the current situation in Asia, when I engaged in economic forecasting for Asian countries, which was first assignment in IDE, I also had the opportunities to study on environmental problems and policies in the Asian region, which was the topic I hoped to conduct in the beginning of my carrier. I also learned a lot in the research projects with many seniors and colleagues. I also feel that it was not possible to visit many places in multiple countries, to understand the actual situation, and to study on cross-border structures, without the drops of airfares and the development of communication technologies. 　The concern on international resource circulation is growing also in overseas. The Korean translation of this book has already been published. After the publication of this book, there are various initiatives regarding the international trade of waste plastic, such as the revision of the annex of the Basel Convention. I would like to continue research in this field, and to make another output that can be used as reference materials on international resource circulation, not just for Japanese readers, but also for international community.

Profile
1965 Born in Tokyo 1990 Bachelor from Department of Economics, Keio University. Researcher in Institute of Developing Economies (IDE). 1996-98 IDE Overseas Researcher at Berkley, US. 1997 M.Sc. from University of California, Berkeley. 1998 Back to IDE. 2015 Chief Senior Research in Inter-Disciplinary Studies Center, IDE 2018 Senior Economist, Economic Research Center for ASEAN and East Asia. 1999- Par-time Lecturer of Hitotsubashi University (one semester in each year) 2016- Visiting Researcher of School of Engineering in University of Tokyo 2007、2013-revised & expanded edition), Wunai de Xuanze: Lengzhan yu Zhongsu Tongmeng de Minyun (The Cold War and The destiny of Sino-Soviet Alliance)(Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2013) and so on. He is also the editor-in-chief of several collections of archival documents, including Zhong Su Guanxi: Eluosi Jiemi Dang’an Xuanbian (Sino-Soviet relations: A Collection of Declassified Russia Archives) (12 volumes. Shanghai: Orient Publishing Center, 2015).