The Basic Act on Ocean Policy, born from the shared understanding of the importance to Japan of recommitting itself to being a maritime state, emphasizes the promotion of interdisciplinary education and research to address ocean policy issues. The Japan Coast Guard Academy established its Center for Research in International Marine Policy to promote such interdisciplinary education and research. Through cooperation and coordination with other universities and research institutes, it aims to become a hub for international marine policy research.

GOFREP has been in operation in the international waters of the Gulf of Finland since July 1, 2004. In the GOFREP scheme, the three countries of Finland, Estonia, and Russia collaborate to prevent collisions between ships traversing the Gulf, but are also intent on stemming the tide of marine pollution. GOFREP applies almost unconditionally to all ships over 300GT, and an important feature of the scheme is that regardless of whether ships are equipped with AIS they are obligated to transmit a position report by VHF wireless when passing reporting lines.

The International Coral Reef Initiative took place in 2008, with the year itself being designated the International Year of the Reef. Japan participated in the initiative and was therefore the stage for a variety of events concerning the conservation of coral reefs. At the same time, several occasions gave rise to doubt that coral reefs are indeed being understood and evaluated correctly. This report seeks to provide a hint at understanding coral reefs, which represent one example of the Japan's diverse coastal topography, and discusses environmental education as a means for entrusting the reefs to the next generation.