The greatest part of coral reef degradation is due to human activities accompanying population increase. Along with over-development of tourism resources bringing about their physical destruction, another large factor causing damage to the coral reefs comes from the muddying and eutrophication of the ocean that accompanies red earth and polluted inflows. We must act now to protect the coral reefs before the natural environment is completely consumed as a tourism resource.

In the Basic Act on Ocean Policy, intended for the comprehensive and systematic promotion of measures relating to the ocean, there are measures of great importance for Taketomi-Machi, beginning with "Conservation of Remote Islands E The measures address the securing of safety of navigation, improvement and stabilization of townspeople's standard of living, and promotion of measures in coordination with neighboring cities and towns. As these measures are thought to be particularly effective for Japan's southern-most town, located on a national border, we are undertaking regional development based on the multi-functional aspects of the Basic Act on Ocean Policy.

With ships being required to have the Automatic Identification System onboard, other ships as well as on-land facilities can share information including the ship's name, position, course, and speed in real-time. For the ships navigating in congested seas, knowing the position and course each other is of fundamental importance. In addition to conventional watches for collision avoidance, which depend on visual sightings and radar traditionally, there is great hope that the artificial intelligent eyes provided by the digital technology of AIS will improve the safety of navigation.