Around 60% of Japan’s CO2 emissions comes from power plants, iron works, and chemical producers, many of which are in port and waterfront areas. Therefore, in order achieve Japan’s goal of being net zero by 2050, it would be both effective and efficient to concentrate efforts towards decarbonizing ports. For this reason, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is working on preparing environments for the introduction of hydrogen/ammonia fuel as well as creating carbon neutral ports (CNP) to decarbonize port areas. Our goal is that these efforts will help the whole country to achieve carbon neutrality.

It has been believed for a long ago that land influences marine productivity, but it is not easy to grasp the full picture. It is against this backdrop that a recently developed method called “environmental DNA” has been gaining attention; compared to conventional methods, it allows us to more easily determine the organisms inhabiting certain environments and assess biodiversity. The environmental DNA has given rise to a clearer view of the relationship between forests, rivers, human communities, and seas.

For the first time in history, canned mackerel developed by high school students - after 14 years of painstaking research and development - was provided to Japanese astronauts on the International Space Station. Behind this development were educational reforms, including goal setting and evaluation in ocean education as well as the formation of local communities.