As it has become a worldwide trend for companies seeking long-term growth to adopt an ESG perspective (environment, society, governance), rather than focusing solely on returns, in May of 2018 Nippon Yusen became the world’s first maritime transport company to issue a green bond of 10 billion yen. A green bond is defined as a corporate bond limited to those investments proven to have beneficial effects on the environment. Nippon Yusen hopes this will serve in a small way to increase general understanding of the merits of green bonds and know-how concerning them, and encourage companies to make what can be costly environmental investments.
Selected Papers No.25(p.13)

In the early 1990s, Heterocapsa-red tide, brought on by the latest type of pearl oyster killer, plankton suddenly occurred in Ago Bay, Mie Prefecture, known as the birthplace of cultured pearls. As a countermeasure for this terrible phenomenon, the Mikimoto Pearl Research Laboratory co-developed the world’s first organic-based marine environment monitoring system, “Kai-Lingual (‘Kai’ means ‘shellfish’ in Japanese.),” using an original device to measure the valve movement of bivalve shellfish.　Mikimoto will continue to protect the ocean that grows its pearls and live in harmony with nature.
Selected Papers No.25(p.15)

Japan’s navigation and shipbuilding technologies showed rapid improvement on entering the Meiji period, reaching world-class standards by the time of the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars at the end of 1800s. Without a proper educational system, acquisition of the knowledge and technologies necessary for that rapid improvement would not have been possible. Tracing the footsteps of John Manjiro, it becomes clear that he was the builder of Japan’s marine technology educational system. Manjiro was shipwrecked along with four other fishermen from Tosa in Shikoku Island Japan, and rescued by an American whale ship. The Captain of the American whale ship named William H. Whitfield took him home to Fairhaven, Massachusetts where Manjiro studying navigation and shipbuilding.