The Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant incident has had grave effects on the marine environment. Radionuclides are detected in various marine organisms, and it is expected that radiation levels even for the same species of marine organism will vary widely. Thorough testing and prompt disclosure of data are needed to allay anxiety concerning marine food products.

Since March 11, 100,000 members of the Ground, Maritime, and Air Self-Defense Forces have been dispatched in response to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. At present, while the number of forces is being gradually reduced, they are continuing their support activities. During this period, the competence and energy of the troops, especially their selfless devotion to their tasks, has elicited the highest praise from around the country as well as from abroad. In this article, I would like to introduce some of the characteristic activities of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, which go largely unnoticed by the general public due to their being carried out at sea.

Moored surface buoys have been widely used around the world as a tool for global ocean observing system since the first half of the 1990s, and Argo floats since the year 2000. In recent years the question of how best to use underwater gliders has been a topic of discussion in ocean observation community. In this article, along with introducing the usefulness of underwater gliders, possible incorporation of underwater glider into the existing Global Ocean Observing System, which is important to research on ocean-derived climate variation, is discussed.