The Philippines suffered severe damage when struck by Typhoon 30 in November of 2013. In support, Japan Self-Defense Forces responded by sending to the affected areas the largest ever contingent in the history of their international emergency relief efforts. Understanding that the needs of those in the affected areas change over time, based on our experience with the Great East Japan Earthquake, we assigned units to provide relief in various areas, with the goal of carrying out high quality relief activities, along Japanese standards. In island areas affected by the disaster, we made our ships moored offshore the base of our operations, allowing us to provide effective relief activities.

In Aomori Prefecture, we were reminded once again, through our experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake disaster, of the benefits of an omnidirectional maritime approach and the major advantage of our potential as a logistics center. We have formulated an "Aomori Prefecture Logistics Strategy (January 2014)" as a new scenario for economic growth drawing on this strength, with a view to creative reconstruction from the disaster. We will aim to contribute to the sustainable growth of this prefecture by maximizing this advantage, and to contribute to economic growth in the whole of Japan as an Oceanic State.
Selected Papers No.18

The Oki Islands Geopark was authorized by the Global Geoparks Network in 2013, and takes as its theme the 'connections' among the islands' geohistory (geological resources), human activities on the islands from ancient times (history and cultural traditions), and their unique ecosystem (flora and fauna). As part of this, taking into account their situation as offshore islands and the importance of their abundant marine life and fishing, the Geopark's boundaries have been extended beyond land, to include the ocean area up to 1 kilometer from the shore. Through its Geopark activities, Oki is aiming to make the best use of local resources to create a sustainable region.