Governance of the High Seas

The Study Group on Governance of the High Seas was a private research group of experts from government, industry, and academia, jointly organized by the Meiji Institute for Global Affairs and OPRI (co-chaired by former Japanese Foreign Minister Junko Kawaguchi and then OPRI President Hiroshi Terashima).

The foundation of the study group was prompted by the establishment in spring 2013 of the Global Ocean Commission, in which experts from around the world came together to address the problems that the world is currently facing relating to the high seas, and its attendance by Ms. Junko Kawaguchi--who (at the time) was a member of the House of Councilors --as the representative from Japan. From the time of the first workshop on May 28, 2013, ocean experts in various fields participated in nine workshops, out of which drafts for policy recommendations emerged. The co-chairs compiled the drafts into a policy recommendation entitled Our High Seas for a Prosperous World: Its Governance for Improved Conservation and Utilization, outlined below.

Japan's Further Initiatives — Approach and System —

1. The four principles underlying initiatives

Acknowledging rights and obligations relating to the high seas/Precautionary approach/Integrated management and ecosystem-oriented approach/Adaptive management

2. Specific initiatives (general description)

Establishment of a marine version of IPCC/Building of a high-level framework for international organizations and governments (e.g., high-level intergovernmental forum relating to the oceans)/Initiative for sustainability of the seas in East Asia/Strengthened efforts by Japan to tackle issues relating to the high seas (e.g., establishment of a high sea ministerial team in the Headquarters for Ocean Policy) /Dissemination of information on issues involving the oceans/Assistance to developing countries/Human resource development/Promotion of education regarding the oceans

3. Specific initiatives (detailed description)

Ocean acidification (e.g., establishment of a research consortium, breeding of hermatypic coral and other adaptive measures, CCS, and research and development of new technologies to achieve negative emissions)/Fisheries (e.g., reduction of excess fishing capacity, reduction of fishery subsidies, introduction of a fishery certificate system, and strengthening of regional fishery management organizations)/Biodiversity and genetic resources (e.g., efforts towards demarcation of marine protected areas on the high seas, proposal of an international joint research project to rank next to CoML, and discussion of international treaties relating to genetic resources on the high seas)/Cross-border marine pollution/Offshore resources, etc.