Japan’s National Ocean Day is a timely reminder of the challenges many countries around the world face in supporting and reviving their ocean economies in the wake of the covid-19 pandemic. Tourism, fisheries and aquaculture, all important sectors in the region, have seen significant —and in the case of tourism, precipitous— declines in activity and widespread economic hardship. Reduced pressures on ocean ecosystems, on the other hand, have seen some natural recovery which in turn may help reinforce sustainable fisheries policies and pave the way for enhanced conservation measures, including for marine protected areas. The unexpected increase in the use of plastics during covid-19 highlights the need for the urgent reduction of risks from marine plastics.

 
Thus, online meetings are highly demanded. For these reasons, it is proposed to holding a series of webinars that consist of three sessions and is jointly organized by The Nippon Foundation, OPRI-SPF, and the Economist using Japan as a platform to broadcast the webinars.