Kure City faces the Seto Inland Sea and has developed its history and culture in partnership together with these waters. It has developed from a port city for the Imperial navy in the Meiji era to a waterfront industrial city after the War. Now it is being promoted as a city with, among other things, a famous tourist attraction, "The Yamato Museum, Ewhich introduces modern Japanese history to everyday people.This article introduces Kure, a city that has advanced together with the sea from a tourism perspective.

Problem and themes concerning the ocean are many and various. This is no doubt because of its great physical size but also due to the many roles it plays. The role that marine science plays as a base for common understanding, therefore, is a large one. My own role is to convey to the public the importance as well as the pleasure of marine science.

In July of 2008, Kenichi Horie, an ocean adventurer who has previously navigated a Pacific crossing, from Hawaii to Shin Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor after successfully completing a voyage of 110 days in the world's first long-range wave-powered ship, the Mermaid Ⅱ, thus proving the viability of this new wave devouring propulsion system. Given the current state of the global environment, I believe more attention should be paid to the development of the technology making use of natural energy.