Norway has made world-class performances in its study and development of its shipping policy, which features good relationships between the government and the private sector, the robust structure of its maritime industries, response to marine pollution by utilizing advanced techniques, and so on. It is not too much to say that the relationship between Japan and Norway, which will mark the centenary of amity in 2005, has been supported by the cooperative relationship in the maritime field. It is hoped to further develop the relationship between the two countries based mainly on "the sea" in the 21st century as well.

The most significant mission of coastal shipping is to make a contribution to society as an essential transportation measure that supports the industries of our country and people's lives. The high cost of coastwise vessels is sometimes perceived as a specific problem in discussing a new logistics system construction, however, the cost sharing of the coastal shipping is low in door to door transportation cost and hence the at-sea cost itself is low. Rather, in order to plan a reduction of the total transportation cost by way of ocean, more attention should be paid to the shore-side cost which includes the cost of harbor transportation, trucks to bring cargo to the pier, etc., and efficiency of transportation such as the reduction of the ship's waiting time for berthing, loading and discharging operations is also thought to be important.

From ancient times, ship transportation has been actively utilized in the Niigata Plain, where the Shinano River and the Agano River run through. Shinanogawa Water Shuttle Co., Ltd., a company which operates a water-bus, was founded in 1998 to revitalize ship transportation, which has a significance and role adaptable to present-day needs. Although there exist many problems for the future, such as the improvement of the water-bus docks, the development of infrastructure necessary for ship transportation and so on, we eagerly hope to make Niigata a city which can be called "the city of water" as in the past.