Local development based on comprehensive management of coastal areas and oceans will be important for reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake. Until now, the sea has not entered into the jurisdiction of local authorities. In the efforts towards reconstruction, however, local authorities will need to undertake local development as if the sea were within their boundaries. I propose that contiguous sea areas of municipalities affected by the disaster be incorporated into municipal jurisdictions up to a fixed distance from the shore, and that this should be done by reforming the standards for calculating the local allocation tax.
Selected Papers No.15

As Japanese Pilchard resources fluctuate widely, they have had large effects on ecosystems and local economies. We are finally seeing signs of increase in Pilchard resources, but in order to make best use of them and other small pelagic fish, improvements are needed in the accuracy of recruitment prediction and development of resource fluctuation prediction technologies. Continued monitoring of resources and the marine environment will aid in this, and it is necessary to deepen our understanding of the mechanisms in the phenomena observed there.

As in the field of resource management the most challenging resource is the human one, in ocean affairs the management of human resources is a major problem. A management approach focused on developing attentiveness and powers of observation is one I believe to be most amenable to the Japanese character.