With the experience of the giant seabed earthquake and tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake, national hopes concerning seabed resources, and worries over rights in marine areas, interest in the ocean has recently shown a dramatic increase. There is a call for ever more knowledge about the ocean over wider areas, at greater depths, and with more precision, as well as the desire to benefit from the appropriate use, based on that knowledge, of nature's blessings found in the ocean. This article outlines the general situation of Japan's marine surveys and discusses existing problems and future prospects.

Since 1962, the Saisei-Maru has for over fifty years cruised among the 65 islands in Seto-Inland Sea for periodical health check-ups of the islanders, and it is called affectionately as the "hospital in the sea. EStaffed by members of the Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, and Ehime branches of the Saiseikai Hospital Group, almost 10,000 islanders were examined every year. At the time of the Great Hanshin Earthquake, this boat has contributed to rescue operation. In the ordinary activities, this boat serves as the training center of regional medicine for doctors, nurses and other hospital employees

After its renewal, the Oceanic Cultural Museum, a facility for experiencing oceanic culture, re-opened in October of 2013. As the overall supervisor of the renewal, I would like here to explain the main features and significance of the museum. I would especially like to introduce the four large canoes, each with its own story, and each in its own way connected with the rebuilding of communal bonds and the raising of awareness. The Oceanic Cultural Museum is not a display of exoticisms from an earlier era. It is a door into the society of today's Oceania.