A fact-finding survey about pleasure boats in Japan was conducted in the fiscal year of 2002 by the Ports and Harbors Bureau and the River Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as well as the Fisheries Agency. The survey result showed a decreased percentage of abandoned ships compared with the last survey result obtained in the fiscal year of 1996, however, it also turned out that there still exist a large number of abandoned ships in public water areas and those ships cause serious problems for appropriate management of public water areas as well as for maintaining the living environment of the surrounding areas. Receiving this survey result, the Ports and Harbors Bureau and the River Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, as well as the Fisheries Agency, jointly established the "Investigation committee on countermeasures against abandoned ships by cooperation among three water areas," and the committee has recently made recommendations on the future direction for countermeasures against abandoned ships.