Although UNCLOS now provides us with a framework for international coordination, Japan has yet to put in place a system for responding to the various kinds of ocean problems that arise. In order for us to play a leading role in international society as an ocean state, there is a need to reform our administrative system. We are now entering the final stage of consultations between ministries, agencies, and others towards the establishment of a Basic Ocean Law.

There are at present still several Dugongs on the Japanese island of Okinawa, but their extinction there is only a matter of time. As part of its effort to make the Ryukyu Archipelago a World Heritage Site, as well as to help revive the biological diversity in the sub-tropical coastal zone, there is a need to create a Dugong network stretching from the Philippines to Taiwan, the Yae-yama islands and Okinawa.
Selected Papers No.10

Seeing the transfer of marine organisms by ballast water discharge, the International Maritime Organization adopted the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments. It is still unclear when the Convention will come into effect and marine organisms continue to be transported and discharged around the world. While the Convention will require ballast water treatment systems in the near future, such systems will not be required to those ships who do not take on ballast water. This article introduces the latest results of non-ballast ship research and development as well as prospects for the future.