In Japan, there exist no regulations concerning foreign investment in land. The buying up of Japanese property and lack of clarity regarding ownership bring on a variety of problems for islands that mark our national borders. By definition, land should not be treated like a financial product. Taking into account contemporary conditions, there is a pressing need to establish a legal framework comparable to that in other countries regarding the reselling and registration of land.

In order to restore the coastal environment and rich fishery resources in the sea off Mie Prefecture, initiatives are underway to revive tidal flats and seagrass beds. In Ago Bay, especially, progress is being made in recreating biologically rich tidal flats from formerly reclaimed land due to cooperation with coastal area stakeholders. As coastal zone management requires the involvement of a variety of administrative departments, there is a limit to what the fisheries department alone can accomplish in the development of effective measures. There is a need to go beyond vertical administrative divisions and carry out frank discussions and cooperation based on an integrated coastal zone management perspective.

For long years past, the ocean has been considered a frontier. The word "frontier" connotes pursuing a dream, a pleasant association we have become completely accustomed to. The great tsunami that struck northeastern Japan in March of 2011 came literally from this frontier. Of the coastal zone even less than 20 kilometers off land, we know almost nothing. In order to rid ourselves of this idea of the ocean as a frontier, we must make qualitative and quantitative progress in marine research especially relating to coastal disaster prevention, marine environment, and use of the oceans and coasts.