Many of the warships sunk during the Pacific War remain where they came to rest, all but forgotten. However, with the development of acoustic technologies and current use of remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), sunken warship searches near the ocean floor and recovery technologies have reached levels unimaginable in the past. The age of regarding sunken warships as graveyards for lack of search capabilities is over.

Submarine cables make up the backbone of international communications networks. As they provide the foundation of today’s information society, their protection is vital. Submarine cables are protected and operated under the public governance of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNCLOS, but the role played in private governance by the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), a private industry organization, is also critical.

While human travel to and from Japan, surrounded as it is by the ocean, has been carried on via the sea since prehistoric times, most of our knowledge from those times up to when ancient history begins is based on archaeological surveys of terrestrial sites and research into early written records. An ocean-based perspective has been missing from historical research until now. We look forward to when progress in historical research into sites along coasts, underwater, and on islands produces a richer historical vision of Japan.