Volunteers from the Japan Society of Ocean Policy and the Japan Association for Coastal Zone Studies worked together to compile a proposal for improving the integrated management of Japan's oceans and coastal zones. The proposal covers the marine area which extends from the coastal zone, considered to be an integral part of the land and sea, to Japan's territorial waters and exclusive economic zones, the sixth largest in the world, as well as the continental shelf and beyond. We hope that readers of this article will discover how the recommendations relate to their own lives, and feel inspired to take action so they can enjoy the benefits of the ocean and achieve sustainable lifestyles into the future.

The Toyohira River was once famous for its “Comeback Salmon” campaign. Now, a new initiative called the Sapporo Wild Salmon Project is being implemented there with the goal of maximizing wilderness of chum salmon. In order to continue conserving and consuming the salmon that grow in the sea, it is important to preserve the rivers where salmon can spawn naturally and produce offspring.

The Bajau are a seafaring people with an estimated population of 1.1 million who live on the seas and shores of the islands of Southeast Asia, the Suru Islands in the Philippines, the Malaysian state of Sabah, and eastern Indonesia. They are particularly vulnerable to displaced migration even among inhabitants of the maritime community of Southeast Asia. I would like to introduce the survival strategies that the Bajau, who use their high mobility and adaptability to secure marine resources, use to live on the sea.