Interview"Reflections on Marine Day"

What is the Marine Day national holiday for? If the day is meant for us to express our gratitude for the benefits of the ocean and wish for the prosperity of Japan, which is surrounded by the ocean, we should take a new look at the future of Japan as an oceanic country.The national government should reconsider its recent negligent attitude toward the ocean, make its ocean policy a priority, and establish a system to promote it.

What is Marine Day for?

- Japan is an oceanic country surrounded by the ocean. First, in order to take up the problems of the ocean now, what do you think most important?
We often hear that Japan is an oceanic country entirely surrounded by the ocean, but I think that is only because Japan is surrounded by the ocean geopolitically. Japanese people are not sufficiently aware that Japan has become a developed country and that its history and culture have been greatly influence by the ocean. Though Marine Day, which is a national holiday, especially provides us with a good opportunity to think about the ocean, it is quite regrettable that people use the day only as one more summer holiday.

- For the enactment of Marine Day, 10.38 million people signed, and 70% of nationwide autonomous bodies, including 47 prefectures, submitted their opinions in writing that a national holiday should be provided for Marine Day. Among many national holidays, Marine Day was the first national holiday that resulted from a national movement.
Because Marine Day is meant to be a day when we express our gratitude for the benefits of the ocean and wish for the prosperity of Japan, the whole nation should celebrate Marine Day sincerely. In the U.S., although not a national holiday, the President issues a statement of maritime affairs on Marine Day. It would be appropriate for the Japanese Prime Minister also to send a message to the nation in the light of Marine Day. I feel strongly that those of us who engage in maritime affairs should make efforts to increase understanding of the significance of Marine Day among all people. It would be shameful to be satisfied simply with the fact that the holiday was established.

Japan lacks an ocean governance perspective

- Due to the coming into effect of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1994, territorial waters expanded to 12 nautical miles, and a 200-nautical- mile Exclusive Economic Zone was also created. As a result, ""national territory has expanded significantly in the sea. However, people lack awareness that these waters should be managed. The Japanese people in general may be bound by the old conception of the three-mile territorial limit.
We lack a perspective that views the country from the ocean side. In Japan, people used to think that the shore was the limit of the sea, and that beyond was the abode of the gods.
However, we now have the Law of the Sea convention, which controls the development, utilization and conservation of enormous marine spaces, for the first time in history. We must maintain a global perspective, which includes the ocean. First, we are being called upon to consider the future of the world's oceans within the conceptual framework of ocean governance. Next, Japan must shift its focus from large to small areas, thinking first of how Japan's Exclusive Economic Zones should be handled, and then its coastal zones; otherwise problems in the respective zones will not be sorted out properly. If, when we are confronted with problems, they are handled based only on precedents and with extemporary comments, contradictions will inevitably arise. We need a system that settles matters from a wider viewpoint. Therefore, we need a government office dedicated to ocean policy.

- Various countries in the world, like the U.S., Australia, China, and Korea strive to control their seas by establishing ocean policies, the law of the sea, and coastal area management acts.
Unfortunately, Japan is weak in that aspect. The demarcation of boundaries in Exclusive Economic Zones in the East China Sea, the investigations of continental platforms, and the control of isolated islands, such as the Senkaku Islands and Okinoshima Island, are prerequisite for the control of the ocean in a new era. Though Japan's Exclusive Economic Zones are the sixth largest in the world, they are now almost being neglected because of its do-nothing policy.
Japan also needs to formulate its ocean policy and take drastic measures promptly by establishing basic ocean laws, appointing a minister in charge of maritime matters and holding ministerial conferences related to maritime matters so that the ocean policy can be implemented. In order to do so, I think that organizations such as ""headquarters for ocean policies"" should be established in the Cabinet first, in order to start discussing Japan's ocean policy and its system to promote the policy.

- Chinese oceanographic vessels are investigating the ocean near Okinotori Island. They are doing so because they are concerned even about the ocean far away from its Exclusive Economic Zone. What do you think about the problems of isolated islands?
I think that they had a history of a unilateral policy. I think that the government has seen isolated islands only as areas in poverty that need aid. The government lacks vision in terms of how we should utilize the histories of isolated islands, their wisdom for living, and their environments, including sea areas with abundant resources. Isolated islands are no longer deserted islands; rather, they are Japan's domains themselves. From now on, they should be considered part of the important national land along with the surrounding Exclusive Economic Zones.
China recently established ""regulations concerning the administration of the protection and utilization of uninhabited islands"" and has been tackling the control of isolated islands. We should refer to the regulations.

A government office in charge of ocean policies should be established promptly

- The Agenda 21 for Change adopted in the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the Plan of Implementation adopted in the World Summit held in Johannesburg ten years later in 2002 took up the integrated management of the ocean and coastal zones, and the protection of resources and the environment. The world is moving actively now; however, Japan unfortunately cannot catch up with that movement.
It is obvious that the sea is irreplaceable for all living things on earth. How should we human beings control the sea from a global viewpoint? The sea is not inexhaustible. The increase of the world population obviously contaminates the sea, and excessive fishing will change marine ecosystems if indiscriminate fishing continues. We must be aware that climatic relations also have an important impact on the existence of human beings.
I recently visited Bhutan in the Himalayas. Bhutan takes a very serious view of environmental protection, and they take good care of forests and greenery. Bhutanese understand well that the Himalaya mountains are the heart of the earth, and they understand what will happen to the earth if the Himalayan ecosystems are destroyed. When I met with the Prime Minister of Bhutan and said to him that it was wonderful that Bhutanese were aware of those things, he told me an intriguing story. He said, ""Our neighboring country, Nepal, has been developed too rapidly, so earth and sand from the Himalaya mountains have been flowing through rivers to the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh. The earth and sand have accumulated inside the bay and are taking the shape of an island. I don't think that the island will belong to Bangladesh, but to Nepal, because it will be made of earth and sand from Nepal."" The problems of the sea should be resolved with mountains and rivers taken into account.
Environmental protection is essential for ""sustainable development."" However, in Japan, the ""environment"" and ""development"" are still being discussed separately, and integrated management has not been realized.
It is also regrettable that matters related to the ocean are not touched on during discussions about sustainable development. The way of managing the ocean is one of Japan's important political issues. Though the ocean is a field of expertise for Japan, which is a major economic country with technical expertise, and Japan should play a major role internationally, Japan actually lags behind other countries in the world. I am apprehensive that time just runs on without a ministry or an agency that has charge of ocean policies.
The Bay of Tokyo is now cleaner compared with the conditions of the bay 30 years ago. The fact that industrial and domestic wastewater are being treated well should be more highly evaluated. Our bitter experience in confronting environmental problems in Minamata and Yokkaichi served as a lesson. It is necessary for us to make use of the world's most advanced environmental technology in China and other developing countries. Then we will be able to have a bigger voice and take the leadership in the world.

- There are instances when those in charge of maritime affairs in Japan do not attend important international conferences on marine issues.
It is widely known that marine issues should be discussed comprehensively, so international conferences that handle marine issues comprehensively and cross-sectionally are often held. It seems that there are many instances when those in charge of maritime affairs in governmental offices in various countries attend such conferences, but nobody from Japanese ministries or agencies attends those conferences except researchers and those from the private sector from Japan. We are now apprehensive that Japan may be left behind without knowing while information on the ocean is exchanged daily, and official and unofficial meetings are held. At present, there is no department or agency that generalizes and handles the problems of the ocean comprehensively. Therefore, there is nobody who can respond to all the details discussed in such meetings, even if some one attends those meetings. Unless there are some appropriate counterparts in Japan, other countries cannot provide us with information. This causes a vicious circle and Japan will further lose touch with the world's movement. That is why I want the Institute for Ocean Policy to hang on for a while.
Ten years passed since the effectuation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, so we are now at a turning point in ocean management. Because 10 years passed after the effectuation of the convention, each country is now qualified to propose a revision of the convention. In addition, it is most likely that the United States, which takes the leadership in the world's maritime affairs, will soon join the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In the U.S., the Commission on Ocean Policy will submit its final report shortly to the Congress and the President. It is possible for a movement in the U.S. to accelerate an international movement for ocean management sharply.
Japan should consider its ocean policy as an important national issue, establish a system to promote the policy and proceed with the policy; otherwise Japan will really be left out of the world's movements.

Necessary personnel training

- To tackle the problems of ocean management, we need personnel with expertise and experience.
One of the Nippon Foundation's recent efforts is personnel training. Unfortunately Asian countries, including Japan, have a shortage of personnel related to the sea in comparison with European countries and the U.S. We think that ""the sea provides routes connecting people living on earth"" and have been proceeding with personnel training in various fields related to the sea.
The Nippon Foundation and the Ship and Ocean Foundation cooperate to provide a fellowship system at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmo, Sweden. Two hundred seventy-three students from 40 countries already graduated from the university. After graduation, they organized graduates' associations, have been keeping in touch with each other, returned to their respective native countries and have been active in their specialized fields. In order to aim at the improvement of education for seamen who take charge of international marine transportation, we also strongly support the activities of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), which is an assembly of maritime universities throughout the world. In addition, last year we also started a scholarship program for maritime law in the International Maritime Law Institute (IMLI) in Malta. This year, we will start personnel training projects, including the training of specialists in the preparation of seabed feature charts, the provision of special classes in the Partnership for Observation of the Global Oceans (POGO), and educational and internship programs for the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We would be happy if we could be helpful for the proper function of ocean management through trainees in these projects who will discuss and cooperate with each other in the future.

Improvement of education related to the sea, and disclosure of information on ocean management

- It seems that Japanese people recently have gradually increasing concern for and understanding about the sea.
There must be many people who used to think that our sea was safe, but realized that the sea has big problems in terms of Japan's security after the incidents of suspicious ships. There might be some people who started being concerned that the quantity of fishes in Japanese waters is decreasing, and that excessive fishing must be creating problems. I watched a TV program yesterday about fishermen in Akita Prefecture who consulted with each other and decided to stop fishing sandfishes for three years, because they started having difficulty catching sandfishes. The fishermen succeeded in restoring fishing resources.
In order to further enhance people's interest in and understanding about the sea, it is necessary to improve education related to the sea, disclose information related to the ocean to people, or provide such information for people.

- It seems that there are few opportunities for teaching about the sea even at school. There are a growing number of teachers who belong to generations that have little knowledge about the sea. I hope that students have more opportunities to learn about the sea through experience along the seashore during integrated learning classes.
We must provide opportunities to explain, and programs to teach children simply and easily that we live on the living earth, and implement those programs actively.
It seems that there are some parents who do not like their children to enjoy the sea, but it is necessary to enjoy the sea and commune with nature. It seems to me that they are under the false impression that people can live only in manmade structures.
For the disclosure and provision of information related to the ocean, it will also be important for the government to do a follow-up on international movements thoroughly, and inform people fully and easily about the information that has been obtained.
Now it is important for private research institutes like ours to compensate for what governmental offices are weak in, and short of, support them and gain expertise so that we can provide governmental offices with our expertise when they start moving. Some one must start moving as a leadoff man, and I expect the Institute for Ocean Policy to act as a leadoff man.