Pirates are on a declining trend on a global basis however, they are increasing in the Straits of Malacca. Formerly, incidents of piracy aimed at cargo were high-profile however, many of the crimes being committed today are kidnapping for ransom. Pirates commit crimes by cunningly using national borders lying on the Straits of Malacca as walls. Anti-piracy measures need to build up and implement an international cooperation regime which recognizes no boundaries.
Selected Papers No.8(p.8)

The Earth Observation Summit-III was held in Brussels, Belgium, last February 16, where representatives of around 60 countries and the European Commission, including Senior Vice Minister Toshio Kojima, MEXT, and representatives of around 30 international organizations participated. Based on the Framework Document adopted by the Earth Observation Summit-II held in Tokyo on April, 2004, the Summit-III successfully adopted 10-year Implementation Plan, which aims that many countries all over the world will cooperate to build Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) within the next decade. GEOSS is targeting natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, global climate change, etc.

Recently, mountains, rivers, and oceans are being taken as one circulating system. Global warming caused by the devastation of mountains, global-scale environmental destruction has a large impact on the ocean.Because the ocean as a commons is being used by various actors, as often as not conflicting interests becomes an issue. Taking up the circulating system of mountains, rivers, oceans as an environmental study on "planting a forest into the ocean" with children at the core and the collaboration of various actors, we can find coexistence of people and the ocean, of the fisherman and the diver.