Yao Yuanchen, a student at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, advocates for a three-pronged solution to Japan’s plastic waste problem: banning the export of plastic waste, raising public awareness, and improving the quality of plastics used. Japan has exported a large portion of its waste products to China in recent years, but China announced a ban on such imports in 2017. Rather than dumping these products in third countries like Thailand and Vietnam, the essay argues that Japan should take responsibility for its own garbage through initiatives to increase the amount of plastic recycled domestically.