The Sea of Okhotsk and the regions of the Oyashio Current have the world’s highest biological productivity per unit area. This good fortune is a product of the material cycles in the ocean and is further sustained by the presence of iron supplied from surrounding lands. However, the wetlands of the Amur River basin, the source of iron, are decreasing, which could potentially have a huge impact on the biological productivity of the Oyashio region as well.

The coastal area of Tokyo Bay, stretching from Yokosuka City in Kanagawa Prefecture to Futtsu City in Chiba Prefecture, has the densest concentration of shell mounds in Japan. These also include some of the largest shell mounds in the country, rivaling the Kasori Shell Midden in Chiba City. The reason behind the formation of many of the shell mounds in this region, including the largest, is related to the occurrence of climate change and climate variability on a global scale.

“High school girls will change society!” This is the catchphrase of the Blue Earth Project, an initiative in environmental education spanning 15 years which has seen the participation of more than 1,000 high school girls at 19 locations, including one school overseas. For the issue of marine litter, we requested the cooperation of restaurants throughout cities and towns and ran campaigns to reduce marine plastic litter, and held　educational shows to communicate this issue through easy-to-understand plays. We would like to continue bringing attention to the importance of environmental issues and suggest actions to solve them in Japan.