The Co-operative Mechanism was established in 2007 through the efforts of the Coastal States. It is highly significant that the Aids to Navigation Fund, established within the Mechanism, serves as a means to receive voluntary contributions not only from User States but from various non-State entities as well. In November of 2008 the International Symposium on Safety and Protection of the Marine Environment in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore provided a venue for discussion in which the international shipping industry could address the huge problems facing the Straits as its own problems, an important step forward for the safety of navigation in the Straits, the protection of its environment, and the global economy.
Selected Papers No.12(p.15)

IOC will celebrate its Fiftieth Anniversary in 2010. Japan has been a member of the Commission's Executive Council since the First Assembly took place in 1961. Oceanographic community of Japan should reconsider our duties to activate oceanographic research programs/projects taking into account this historic fact and make further efforts to initiate and promote cooperative international research projects.

Reduction of CO2 emissions in order to prevent global warming has become an issue of worldwide importance. Deliberations are speeding up towards agreement on a framework for the reduction of CO2 emissions from ships in the maritime transport industry, which operates across national borders around the world. This paper introduces current international movements and Japan's environmental initiatives for international contributions by its maritime industries and their further growth.