Japan cannot clamp down on a ship in the exclusive economic zone if it is hoisting a national flag and there is no suspicion of violation of the Japanese EEZ related laws, even though it is conducting an intelligence gathering operations other than a survey of natural resources. A comment on the action taken against the unidentified ship that sank off the Amami Islands in December and the limitations of measures in the EEZ.

In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks last year, America is strengthening maritime anti-terrorism measures. The IMO is in the process of investigating how to prevent international terrorism at sea and it is anticipated that the organization will make amendments to the convention this December. This kind of international effort is vital to stop terrorist acts from taking place, and Japan can be expected to pledge positive support to these efforts.

When the inflow of nutrient salts from land becomes excessive, non-diatom phytoplankton in place of diatoms and micro zooplankton that feed on it increase and unfastidious jellyfish that feed on micro zooplankton multiply. Including the Seto Inland Sea, the seas of the world is confronted with this problem. In a sea of jellyfish, fish production scales down. It will take a great deal of effort to improve eutrophication and bring the Seto Inland Sea back into a sea of anchovies.