SynObs is one of the Japan-led projects being performed as part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science. It aims to propose an efficient ocean observing network that maximizes the synergistic effects of various observational data for predicting the oceans. We expect active participation from Japanese researchers in ocean science.

The plan to dispose of the increasing ALPS-treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant through ocean discharge is progressing. In November 2021, following the government's decision on the ocean discharge policy, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) released a Radiological Impact Assessment (RIA) predicting the environmental and human impacts if the treated water were discharged into the ocean. On the other hand, international law mandates the implementation of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for activities that may have significant adverse effects on other countries' environments. This paper will examine TEPCO's RIA from the perspective of international law.

The University of Tokyo’s Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute and the Institute of Social Science teamed up in 2018 to start the School for the Ocean and Hope in Sanriku, a project seeking to provide hope to the region by rebuilding local identity with the ocean as a base. It has been five years since the project began, and as residents gradually come to appreciate its aims there is a feeling that it’s finally starting to bear fruit.