Having now entered the 21st century, our country is being pressed to develop concrete strategies to fulfill our obligations towards co-existing with the oceans. The Okinawan people, who formally traveled all over the Asian seas and formed a large trading network, certainly possess the potential to build these strategies. However, has that potential been put to its best use? Okinawa is the "Bridge To Asia". It's now time, in remembrance of the disheartened spirits of Okinawa's predecessors that are inscribed on the bells inside Shuri Castle, for us to contribute to Okinawa's independent development and therefore the growth of both our country and the Asia-Pacific region.

Our country has the history and experience of more than 10,000 years of boat carpentry. However, at the present rate, it is feared that both the construction of wooden boats and boat carpentry itself won't succeed far into the 21st century. In an era that prioritizes economic efficiency, wooden boats are being replaced by their plastic alternatives. Should we maintain the accumulation of boats and unique technology that were created by Japan's "sea people" and the other technology received from abroad, and further more the faiths, festivals and bonds between people that were involved with such boats. Or should we just sit back and watch as our boating culture changes?

The information dissemination of public bodies (administrative government and research institutes) is far from sufficient. Different from land or atmospheric data, information on the oceans and the resources that are contained within them, is mostly something that can't be seen by the human eye. As a result, there is a tendency for most of the population to misunderstand the related issues.