There have always been fluctuations in the rates of piracy, though no government has ever been able to completely eliminate it. Piracy still exists, with ever-changing forms and methods, and might also evolve into terrorism. Beginning with the Alondra Rainbow Incident, Japan and India have built up a cooperative framework and continue to work for the elimination of piracy. There is a need for detailed surveys of areas along sea-lanes and commercial sea routes where piracy might be expected to occur as well as a cooperative mechanism for securing the safety of navigation.

In 2007 the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was adopted. This report contained a stronger message than previous reports concerning anthropogenic factors of global warming. There exist two schools of thought regarding responses to global warming and climate change: mitigation strategies and adaptation strategies. Mitigation strategies attempt to slow global warming and climate change by reducing the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; but this alone is not enough. There is a need for the immediate adoption and implementation of adaptation strategies to cope effectively with the actual effects of global warming and climate change.

Mount Rishiri stands loftily in the center of Rishiri Island. At its base can be found the graves of eight retainers from the Aizu feudal clan, with "the 5th Year of Bunka, Boshin" (1808) carved into the headstones. This was the year, in the latter days of the shogunate, that the Aizu and other northern feudal clans were ordered to send retainers to guard the Ezo area, as the Russians had begun their raids into the area. In whatever period, the ocean always serves as the stage for diplomatic history. The graves of the Aizu retainers remind us how the challenges of the ocean must always be met.