Ship dismantling and recycling sites are known to have issues related to safety and health as well as environmental pollution from hazardous materials, but as the Basel Convention, which regulates transboundary movement of hazardous waste, is difficult to apply to ships, legislation has been called for to resolve these issues. I would like to introduce the Ship Recycling Convention which was adopted to remedy these issues, and the EU Regulation that was established to promote its earlier implementation.

In recent years, underwater drones have been gaining attention for their role in revolutionizing ocean industries. Over 200 individuals have obtained licenses through the “Safe Underwater Drone Piloting Certification Training Program”, which was launched by the Japan Underwater Drone Association in 2019 to promote the acquisition of knowledge and skills in the safe operation of underwater drones. We are making all efforts towards industry creation and educational activities related to underwater drones, as well as fostering the next generation of leaders for the IoT revolution in marine industries.

The Haida and Inuit peoples of Canada have a history of rebuilding their society after incurring heavy human, economic, social, and cultural damage as a result of epidemics introduced by outside societies. As case studies in the search for coping strategies on how to co-exist with epidemics, I would like here to introduce and compare disease transmission, as well as its societal and cultural impacts, in the late 19th Haida and mid-20th century Inuit societies.