The number of ships traversing the Northern Sea Route (NSR) along the Siberian coast, which had mostly seen a steady increase over recent years, showed a decline in completed voyages in 2014 due to several factors, including unfavorable ice conditions, changes in Russia's NSR navigation regulations, a slump in the EU economy, conditions in the Ukraine freight rate, and a drop in fuel prices. In this article I comment on commercial navigation conditions on the NSR as well as issues that need to be addressed to secure its status as a stable commercial route in future.

After the earthquake and tsunami, the University of Tokyo's Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute launched a research program to elucidate the physical, chemical, and biological factors controlling the ecosystems in the Sanriku coastal seas, which aims to provide the scientific knowledge necessary in reestablishing post-disaster fishing grounds and in predicting amounts of available resources. In our physical oceanography research we have built an ocean observation system and constructed a numerical ocean circulation model to elucidate current patterns in the Sanriku coastal seas, not only aiming at producing globally recognized scientific results, but also putting a high priority on integrating our activities with local communities in the area.

We travel the coasts of the ocean country Japan, under our own power, by sea kayak. Sea kayaks have the power to instantly connect us visitors from the sea with those who spend their daily lives with nature. What we learn from fishermen, who live by the sea, we pass on to others, and while weaving the connections with nature that people should have, we create values that will lead us into the future.As we aim at developing the youth on which our sustainable society depends as well as promoting the revival and restoration of our coasts, the 2015 Sea Pilgrimage sets sail for the Ariake Sea.