【Abstract】

When people attempt to share concerns about complex ocean problems and the effects of the ocean’s health, the challenge becomes knowing how to understand and perceive the oceans. People who are well-educated about the oceans―in other words, “ocean-literate people”―will be needed to lead society in a way that transforms lifestyles, thinking, and actions and ensures that the oceans remain sustainable. Ocean Literacy for All is a strategy that was prepared in 2017 based on Ocean Literacy, the leading document on ocean literacy. It aims to promote ocean literacy worldwide during the UN Decade of Ocean Science, which started in 2021, with a view to achieving SDG 14 and the other Sustainable Development Goals. In line with this global trend, Japanese people must reexamine the knowledge to be imparted through a common education on the oceans and develop a Japan-specific ocean literacy. It is hoped that the UN Decade of Ocean Science will provide an opportunity to develop and promote ocean literacy in Japan, and that, as each individual acquires ocean literacy and comes to understand the ocean, Japan will become a country that can live in harmony with a sustainable ocean.