With the continued slump in global maritime transport, it is of high importance to secure Japan-flagged vessels, which have greatly decreased in number, in order to establish stable overseas shipping for Japan. Japan is making use of the tonnage tax, a global standard for overseas shipping, and other policies in order to secure international vessels. However, the creation of an environment in which Japanese shipping companies can compete on an equal footing with foreign firms will require still further improvements.

While there are many traditional fishing methods of high historical value dating from before the Early Modern era, the majority of them disappeared from use during Japan's Post-War economic miracle. As the fishermen in the dwindling years of traditional fishing were in their 20s, they are now in their 80s, meaning there are probably only five to six years left of them being available for interview surveys. Unless efforts are made to undertake such surveys, we will forever lose valuable traditional fishing knowledge. Here, using the "Taishibari" fishing method as an example, I will address the urgent need and purpose of conducting interview surveys on traditional fishing methods.

The breeding of penguins at the Nagasaki Penguin Aquarium, which originally began at the Nagasaki Aquarium, has entered its 58th year. As a facility focusing solely on penguins, there have been many dramatic moments and records marked, as evidenced by its achievement of world number one and world first records. While Japan is known as a "penguin paradise," the current difficulty in acquiring penguins has led to zoos and aquariums around the country acting together for the conservation of penguin species.