The concept of "Maritime Nation Japan" has gone adrift because our national strategy lacks a geopolitical perspective. For Japan to survive as an Asian maritime nation in the 21st century, it is absolutely vital that we propose a national strategy founded on geopolitics.
Selected Papers No.14(p.4)

Regarding the comprehensive management of Tokyo Bay, the "Tokyo Bay Revitalization Action Plan" is starting to take effect. While its integration is advanced, public-private cooperation has yet to show many concrete details. Nevertheless, public-private cooperation is beginning to try new things. Unique initiatives in citizen participation and improvement methods such as "Shiosai Beach Project" and "Oomori Hometown Beach Park" are connecting environmental restoration to disaster prevention and town renovation. To take comprehensive management of the bay area to the next level, encouragement should be given to these new sprouts of initiative.

As folklorist Kenichi Tanikawa once called flotsam an "encyclopedia of the beach, " the Japanese have long had a special interest in the objects that end up on their shores. Eight people with a shared in interest in flotsam came together to found the Japan Driftological Society in November of 2001, with 30 in attendance at the first national meeting. Ten years later, the membership has swelled to 229 members from around the nation and we have 337 on our mailing list. Our activities now cover the country and we carry out a variety of research for many purposes and from all perspectives.