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Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Evaluation Process of Second Basic Plan on Ocean Policy [2018年07月25日(Wed)]

This blog post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI’s blog
on May 17, 2017.

---

If you have been following this blog, you must be
well aware that our staff members and directors are
devoted to research studies that contribute to the
development of ocean policies both in Japan and
around the world. These research studies include
not only finding and providing new information but
also (re-)evaluating current or existing projects.
The latter is also very important for promoting
better research studies. We conducted an evaluation
process in January 2017 on the second Basic Plan on
Ocean Policy, the results of which will help guide our
future research studies.

We sent an evaluation form to 65 people on our
institute’s research committees (the Comprehensive
Ocean Policy Research Committee, the Research
Committee on the Implementation of the Integrated
Coastal Management Model, the Research
Committee on the Promotion of the Sustainable
Development of Islands and their Surrounding Ocean
Areas, the “Ocean Newsletter” Editorial Committee,
the “Ocean White Paper 2017” Editorial Committee
and the Research Committee on the Future of the
Arctic) and asked for their cooperation on our
evaluation process. Twenty-eight of these individuals
sent us their replies. I would like to thank those who
helped us, especially as it was during the busiest
time of the year.

The results are shown in the diagram below. We
received a high evaluation on the policies of
“4. Securing Maritime Transport,” “9. Integrated
Coastal Zone Management” and “10. Conservation
of Remote Islands.” On the other hand, we received
a low evaluation on the policies of “3. Promotion of
Development of Exclusive Economic Zones,”
“7. Promotion of Research and Development of
Ocean Science and Technology” and “8. Promotion
of Ocean Industries and Strengthening International
Competitiveness.” However, non-experts gave us a
high evaluation on those policies that received a low
evaluation from the experts. My honest opinion is
that it was very interesting (and rather surprising)
for me, who was in charge of this process, to see the
difference in their understanding and evaluation of
each policy. For reference, this evaluation process
had a feature where we asked the participants to
choose whether they were “an expert,” “not an
expert but have an interest,” or “not an expert and
have no interest” in each of the twelve policies
stipulated in the second Basic Plan on Ocean Policy
before they completed the evaluation process.
Therefore, we were able to show the differences in
their understanding, as shown below.

ジグソーピース図(英語).jpg
Evaluation of Achievement per Policy
(Source: Modified from “Report on Research
Concerning Ocean Policy in Japan (2016)”)

We also included a free comment section on the
evaluation sheet. There were some harsh opinions
on the second Basic Plan on Ocean Policy. One such
shared opinion was, “All in all, it was impossible to
avoid the impression that these measures were
thrown together quickly from existing ones from
each ministry. Policies based on the Basic Act on
Ocean Policy and the United Nations Convention on
Maritime Law have not yet been fully developed
since the initial planning stages.” Another opinion
stated, “I would encourage as many people as
possible to try to understand the ocean. For this,
it is important to share knowledge of the ocean with
Japanese citizens and gain their understanding.
However, I do not think this has been achieved.
People’s lives have gotten further and further away
from the concept of an ‘Ocean State.’” In addition,
we received comments regarding current issues and
future development that said, “The well-developed
Ocean Basic Plan should be made widely known to
the public. Efforts to evoke interest in the ocean and
opportunities to discuss the ocean should be
encouraged further.” As a researcher concerned with
ocean policy, this really pleased me.

For more details about the evaluation process of the
second Basic Plan on Ocean Policy, please read the
“Report on Research Concerning Ocean Policy in
Japan (2016),” compiled by our institute. We are
hopeful that the report will be utilized in future
research on ocean policy. Our institute wishes to
gather policy suggestions based on opinions from the
participants and utilize the report in contributing to
the establishment of a new Basic Plan on Ocean
Policy. We hope that we will continue to receive
further guidance and encouragement from our
readers in the future.

Yuta Komori
Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Studies Division

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Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Earthquake Recovery and Ocean Education in Onagawa [2018年06月20日(Wed)]

This blog post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI's blog
on April 26, 2017.

---

It has been a year since the 2016 Kumamoto
Earthquake, and continuing efforts toward recovery
were reported recently in the news. The Tōhoku
Region also underwent a large amount of damage in
the Great East Japan Earthquake and is still in a
process of recovery.

A teacher training session was conducted on the
11th and 12th of February 2017 under the title of
“Educational Tour of the Ocean for Teachers/
Understanding Ocean Education from a Perspective
of Disaster Prevention −With Onagawa, at the
Forefront of Earthquake Restoration−” (The event
was hosted by The Nippon Foundation in cooperation
with the University of Tokyo Ocean Alliance’s
Research Center for Marine Education and the Ocean
Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace
Foundation). Since OPRI has been engaged in ocean
education for many years, I have visited schools
myself and conducted surveys concerning the
implementation status of ocean education.
During those visits, I often heard that teachers were
learning (or planning to learn) about disaster
prevention, especially tsunamis, due to the impact
of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

To be honest, I have never experienced a large-scale
earthquake. When the Great East Japan Earthquake
occurred, I was living in an area completely
unaffected by it. All I could do was obtain
information by watching about the affected areas on
television. While participating in the teacher training
as a tour leader however, by visiting locations which
were greatly damaged by the tsunami and listening
to people discuss restoration and what actually
happened on the day of the earthquake, I learned
things one can usually only learn by actually visiting
the affected sites.

I heard many stories and learned a lot through this
teacher training, but would like to introduce one
example in regard to ocean disaster prevention
education. As some of our readers might already
know, the students of Onagawa Junior High School
have begun an activity called the “Stone Memorial of
Life Project.” The students plan to erect large stone
tablets in twenty-one locations around Onagawa.
Each tablet will be placed at a location that is higher
than the elevation reached by the tsunami.
The students came up with this project in order to
encourage a continued awareness of the catastrophe
for the next 1,000 years.

Each stone tablet contains a haiku −a short
Japanese poem− written about the disaster by the
students. I think this is a project from which many
schools can learn a lot when undertaking ocean
education, especially ocean disaster prevention
education.  

In addition to being a great location for learning,
Onagawa is a wonderful place to visit. Everyone I
met there was friendly and kind. The seafood was
delicious, and the “Onagawa-don,” a bowl of rice
topped with seafood which I prepared for myself,
was superb. (I am now a little regretful that I was
too impatient to take a photograph of it and instead
immediately ate it.)

I heard that the promenade in front of Onagawa
Station, in the shopping area known as “Seapal Pier
Onagawa,” was designed so that the sun would rise
at the end of it on New Year’s Day. You should visit
Onagawa to try the delicious seafood and see the
first sunrise of the year.

上里1.jpg
View of Onagawa Bay from the earthquake and
tsunami resistant fish freezing and storage facility
“Maskar”

Rina Uesato
Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Studies Division

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Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Development of a Comprehensive Forest, River and Ocean Health Check [2018年05月30日(Wed)]

This blog post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI’s blog
on November 22, 2016.

---

In 2000, when our institute was operating as the
Ocean Policy Research Foundation, we developed an
“Ocean Health Check” to measure marine
environmental conditions using the “stability of the
ecosystem” and “circulation of water” around the
coastal zones as indicators. Using this system,
we conducted two assessments of the “stability of
the ecosystem” and “circulation of water” in Japan.
The first assessment began in 2001 in 88 closed
bays, and the second assessment began in 2006 in
71 closed bays. The results of the implementation of
the “Ocean Health Check” clearly showed that the
negative environmental conditions existing in the
coastal waters resulted from human activity there
and on adjoining land areas.

The Japanese government enacted the Basic Act on
Ocean Policy as a national policy in 2007. Article 25,
the “Integrated Management of the Coastal Zone,”
stipulates that “if it is determined that it would be
best to apply countermeasures in coastal sea and
land areas integrally, the government shall take
necessary measures to ensure that such an area be
managed properly by implementing regulatory and
other measures comprehensively.” (Translation by
the Ocean Policy Research Institute provided here.
For the full unofficial translation by the Japanese
government, see * at the bottom of the post.)
In regard to coastal zones, therefore, the natural
environment and human society should be
considered in a unified manner and policies to be
implemented should be discussed and evaluated
comprehensively. It was to this end, that, while
extending the scope of the coastal zone − which
includes the coastal sea and land areas − to forests,
rivers and oceans, we developed a new diagnostic
method in 2015 called the “Comprehensive Forest,
River and Ocean Health Check” at our institution.

The Ocean Health Check was based on two main
components: the “stability of the ecosystem” and
“circulation of water.” Our “Comprehensive Forest,
River and Ocean Health Check” added the “state of
social and economic activities of human beings in
the coastal zones” as another component from a
social science perspective. Also, from both a natural
science and social science perspective, we set five
goals and made a list of 22 detailed items to cover,
and suggested qualitative indications in 34 items to
evaluate these. This was the first phase in the
development of the assessment method used for
government policies. In the next phase of
development, we will conduct trial health checks
using actual data from local governments.
Through comparisons, such as between those areas
where comprehensive management is implemented
in the coastal zones and the areas where it is not,
we will check the effectiveness of the assessment
resulting from our “Comprehensive Forest, River and
Ocean Health Check” and review the characteristics
of the indicators. We would also like to establish the
best assessment method possible.

In future, we hope that this “Comprehensive Forest,
River and Ocean Health Check” will help in providing
useful suggestions for establishing a plan to be
implemented in coastal areas as a basis for
evaluating each government policy.

高1.jpg
Relationship between Forests, Rivers and Oceans
(Source: “Sato-Umi Zukuri no Tebiki-Sho”)
**Refer to the above source (in Japanese) and
here
for more information on Sato-umi.

Xiang Gao
Research Fellow, Ocean Policy Studies Division

*See here for the full unofficial translation of the
Basic Act on Ocean Policy on the Headquarters for
Ocean Policy website. Also, below is a portion of
Article 25 from the unofficial translation.

Article 25 (1): The State shall take necessary
measures for the coastal sea areas and land areas,
where recognized suitable for the measures to be
implemented in a unified manner upon the natural
and social conditions, to be managed properly, by
the regulatory and other measures to the activities
implemented in the integrated manner...

Posted by OPRI at 14:30 | この記事のURL | コメント(0)
Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: What Seawater Carries and Connects [2018年04月25日(Wed)]

This post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI's blog
on April 5th, 2017.

---

Half a year has passed since the “Ocean Jigsaw
Puzzle Piece” was introduced in our institute’s blog as
a new series. We deeply appreciate those who are
reading the blog posts. I would like to explain a little
bit about the series for those who are unfamiliar with
it. Researchers at our institute take turns introducing
what we are studying individually or a key “piece”
we have found in our research. This is reader-
participation type content, in which we hope that
readers will understand the research goals we are
aiming for after reading various “pieces.”

This time I would like to talk about my speciality −
hydrology: studies for water currents. It is the
existence of dense fluid (water) which separates
the characteristics of the sea environment, including
the coastal area, from the land environment.
Water is about 1,000 times heavier, about 50 times
more adhesive and about 4 times harder to warm up
and cool down than air. A 100 gram unit of water
can dissolve about 200 grams of sugar.
This means that water can hold one ton of material
per cubic meter. A small current of 30 centimeters
per second of water has the same kinetic energy
as a wind speed of 10 meters per second.
One liter of water can dissolve the daily calories
required for 2.5 adult men.

While water circulates between the ocean and the
land from mountains passing through rivers and
underground, it transfers various things such as
heat, nutrients, sediments, and sand by absorbing
some, dissolving some, and retaining some.
Then it returns to the ocean after part of it is used
by humans. A main characteristic of water is its
power to “carry” things whether they are tangible
or not. As many various items are “carried,”
substances circulate in the water, resulting in the
ecosystem itself having a strong connective power.
When we think about the ocean environment and
the coastal area, we need to think about wider and
long-term impacts comprehensively.

KF 1.PNG

Diagram of the Water Cycle in Coastal Areas
(Created by the author. Click image to enlarge.)

The substances carried by water currents include
living things. Areas linked by living things are called
ecosystem networks, a key concept for conservation
and revitalization of ocean and coastal ecosystems.

In the research done on the network of the Asari
clam larvae in Tokyo Bay which was conducted
mainly by the National Institute for Land and
Infrastructure Management of the Ministry of Land,
Transport and Tourism(*), a diagram of clams was
created through the connections among individuals
from various fields of expertise. Fishermen
cooperated with the survey and provided information
on clams, fishery researchers identified Asari clam
larvae, oceanography researchers analyzed the bay
and ocean currents, communication technology
researchers observed the current inside the bay
using marine radar, ecosystem researchers
confirmed the life cycle of Asari clams and their
predation relationship, and assessment and analysis
experts conducted the survey and analysis.

KF 2.jpg

Presumed Network of Asari Clam Larvae
(The red arrows show the links inside the same
tidal flat, the blue arrows show the links between
different tidal flats, and the numbers show the
relative strength of the links.)
Source: Hinata & Furukawa (2005)

This diagram shows that the link between the north
and the southwest of Tokyo Bay, on the Tokyo and
Kanagawa Prefecture side, is oriented mostly in one
direction. This indicated to us that we would need to
create and restore tidal flats−the sizes do not
matter but the number should be increased−to
strengthen the network. In response to these
research findings, the “Action Plan for Tokyo Bay
Renaissance,” which was developed in 2003 (with
the second phase decided in 2013), established a
“prioritized area” between inner Tokyo Bay and the
western side as a restoration measure.

Restoration of tidal flats is also important in our
institute's project titlted “Implementation of model
site projects on Integrated Coastal Management."
Four tidal flats were restored in Ago Bay, Shima City,
by opening the gate of the dyke which was originally
set up to create reclaimed land. These tidal flats are
expected to create a variety of networks in the flow
of the coastal waters. They will function as the core
of the ecosystem network and as a base for human
interactions. For that purpose, we will continue our
research by focusing on water circulation and “items
the water carries” with a comprehensive perspective
by working together with a variety of stakeholders.

Keita Furukawa

Director
Ocean Research and Development Department

*Additional material: Research on Asari clam larvae

References:
Hinata, H., & Furukawa, K. (2005). Ecological
network linked by the planktonic larvae of the clam
Ruditapes philippinarum in Tokyo Bay.
In E. Wolanski (Ed.), The Environment in Asia
Pacific Harbours.
http://www.springer.com/jp/book/9781402036545

Kasuya, T., Hamaguchi, M., Furukawa, K., &
Hinata, H. (2003). Larval abundance, distribution,
and size composition of planktonic larvae of the
clam Ruditapes philippinarum in the summer season
in Tokyo Bay. Res Rep Nat Int Land Infrastr Mang 8
(in Japanese)
http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/bcg/siryou/rpn/rpn0008.htm

Kasuya, T., Hamaguchi, M., Furukawa, K., &
Hinata, H. (2003). Larval abundance, distribution,
and size composition of planktonic larvae of the
clam Ruditapes philippinarum in the fall season in
Tokyo Bay. Res Rep Nat Int Land Infrastr Mang 12
(in Japanese)
http://www.nilim.go.jp/lab/bcg/siryou/rpn/rpn0012.htm

Tokyo Bay Renaissance Promotion Council. (2003).
Action plan of the Tokyo Bay Renaissance.
(in Japanese)
https://www1.kaiho.mlit.go.jp/KANKYO/TB_Renaissance/


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Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Ocean Education Grant System ~The Pioneer School Program and a Consideration of Ocean Education~ [2018年03月22日(Thu)]

This blog post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI's blog
on February 8th, 2017.

---

The Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa
Peace Foundation(OPRI-SPF) began the development
of a new marine educational grant called the
Ocean Education Pioneer School Program
(link
in Japanese) jointly with The Nippon Foundation
and the University of Tokyo Ocean Alliance's
Research Center for Marine Education
(RCME)
in 2016.

In its first year, 64 schools (elementary schools,
junior and senior high schools and schools for
special needs education) from 28 prefectures from
Hokkaido to Okinawa participated. Each school
provided a draft curriculum on educational topics
pertaining to oceans when they applied for the
funding. There were various kinds of programs:
programs applicable for any location in Japan −
such as disaster prevention, driftage research,
fishing port observation, fish tasting, and tideland
observation− to programs which utilize local
features − such as a salmon study in the northern
region, community collaborated eelgrass
reproduction activity, traditional salt-making,
creation of a squid culture bed using both land and
sea,and a drive-fishing experience using a traditional
fishing boat used near coral reefs called a “sabani.”

From simply viewing the list of the programs, I could
not help but realize that the Japanese islands are
actually quite varied and extensive. Some members
from OPRI-SPF visited several elementary schools
and observed their activities. It was impressive
when the children were sharing stories about the
ecology of the crabs they had caught during their
beach education class and the name of the coral
they were growing in a tank. A teacher told us that
a child who was normally quiet and reserved in the
classroom showed outstanding leadership in the
tideland observation.

Part of the activities' results was presented at the
4th National Ocean Education Summit “New Trends
in Ocean Education” hosted by the RCME and The
Nippon Foundation at the University of Tokyo on
Feb. 5, 2017.Three hundred and sixty people
attended from institutions nationwide, including
boards of education, inland schools, and social
education facilities. The venue was surrounded by an
air of excitement.

There were 23 poster presentations from 13 pioneer
schools. Students of elementary and junior high
schools from the Tokyo metropolitan area and
remote places such as Hironocho (Iwate Prefecture),
Kesennuma City (Miyagi Prefecture)
and Nachikatsuuracho (Wakayama Prefecture)
participated in the summit. They took their
presentations very earnestly. There were occasions
when senior high school students were engaged in
high-level heated discussions with university
professors or students from different schools, and
I could see that the summit was an important
meeting place for them.

In addition, we spoke with enthusiastic teachers
from Ishikawa Prefecture and Minami-Satsuma City
of Kagoshima Prefecture who traveled on the very
first Shinkansen bullet train of the day, and I was
overwhelmed to realize that ocean education is so
widespread from one enthusiastic person to another.
Among the Pioneer Schools, there have been
instances where two schools which are located
geographically quite far apart have made contact,
exchanged information and lent a helping hand in
developing each other’s programs.
Moreover, Pioneer School Program activities are now
starting to involve their surrounding areas, to
become wider social education programs.
Great potential is expected.

Nakamura1.jpg
The poster presentation hall at the 4th National
Ocean Education Summit. In front is a set of diving
gear for “Nanbu-Moguri,” which was presented by
Iwate Prefectural Taneichi Senior High School.

These days a new trend in ocean education is
definitely beginning to become apparent.
However, as discussions progress at the Pioneer
School meetings, we often return to the main
subject of “what is ocean education in the first
place?” The image people have of the ocean varies
depending on the person. The concept of the
ocean is extremely broad. So I sometimes wonder
myself what exactly does ocean education signify?

I come from an earth science background, and I
teach geography and biotic life history to university
students. My lecture starts from the time when
there was no ocean on the Earth. The dramatic
evolutionary changes which have affected Earth and
its ecosystems over 4 billion years are impressive.
When I ask my students which topic they remember
the most, the top answer is “the movement of life
from ocean to land.” They said that they were
particularly moved when they found the connection
between ancient creatures and themselves. Plants,
insects and animals came one after the other to the
land from the sea; but at that time, our distant
ancestors also adapted their bodies in order to
overcome many obstacles so as to survive on land.
However, they never completely relinquished the
environment of the ocean they had been living in
before. Four-legged animals came to land with
an ocean component inside their bodies.

The ocean that land animals have inside their bodies
is “bones.” The calcium ion plays an important role
as an intercellular signalling substance which
controls muscle contraction and emission of
physiologically active substances. Calcium is stored
in this ocean of bones in preparation for its shortage.
Also, the ion concentration in human cells reflects
the ion concentration in the Cambrian ocean, and
the ion concentration in our blood reflects the ion
concentration in the ocean. In the 4.6 billion years of
Earth’s history, the ion concentration of seawater has
gone through several large-scale changes. Calcium
ion concentration dramatically increased immediately
before the Cambrian period 550 million years ago.
The expansion rate of the mid-ocean ridge is
considered to be the cause*. Organisms, armed
with calcium carbonate shells which they made
using abundant materials, have emerged.
The chemical composition of seawater in each era
in Earth’s history is imprinted and reflected in the
bodies of multicellular animals.

Considering this, there is no need for us to cry,
“Let’s live with the ocean!” Our lives have been
intertwined with the ocean since long ago.
However, the sense of having the ocean inside our
bodies has been lost in those of us who live in the
modern age. This has caused the connection with
the ocean environment to become distant and
non-contiguous. Astronauts add Earth environmental
components into their space suits before flying into
outer space. We are like astronauts who have stayed
in outer space too long and have forgotten the
reason for wearing the space suits. To know the
ocean is to know ourselves. In what class at school
can we regain this feeling? I hope that children can
find it on their own without relying on ocean
education as part of a social studies** unit and can
learn to value natural science, art and culture.

Nobuko Nakamura

Research Fellow,
Ocean Policy Studies Division/
Ocean Education Division


* The period of rapid expansion of the mid-ocean
ridge signifies the period of increased production
of oceanic plate composed of basalt. This is
equivalent to large-scale volcanic activities and the
warm period. At this time, the calcium (Ca) released
due to the quality change of basalt and the
magnesium (Mg) uptake from the seawater increase,
and the Mg/Ca ratio in the seawater decreased.
(Stanley 2006)

** In the report on the revision of the curriculum
guidelines by the Central Education Council of the
Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology in December 2016, it says that “(We will)
review the necessary part of the curriculum related
to issues such as... understanding the ocean and
national land territories” within “Social Studies,
Geography and Civics.”

Nakamura2.PNG
Changes in Ocean’s Chemical Composition (Ratio of
Calcium [Ca] and Magnesium [Mg] through
Phanerozoic Eon)


There are two kinds of crystal structures in
calcium carbonate: calcite and aragonite.
The crystal structure of the shells calcified
organisms make differs depending upon
the time period.

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Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Is the Experience from the Fukushima Disaster Being Put to Use? [2018年03月07日(Wed)]

This blog post was originally posted in Japanese
to OPRI's blog
on November 9, 2016.

---

Since 1992, The Nippon Foundation and the Ocean
Policy Research Foundation (now the Ocean Policy
Research Institute) have been engaged in an
international research project, mainly in Japan,
Russia, and Norway, to open a Northern Sea Route,
and have been looking for opportunities to raise
awareness of this future passage through the Arctic
Ocean. Conducting maritime industry research in
the Arctic Ocean includes research in a wide range
of fields, including everything from planetary science
and marine ice engineering to maritime distribution
trends, maritime law, international law, the Arctic
Council, domestic laws in coastal countries,
Classification Society regulations, the insurance
industry, and nuclear vessel reactors.

Today, I would like to touch on one topic relevant to
nuclear vessel reactors and related to the Chernobyl
and Fukushima nuclear disasters, which were
mentioned at the 5th International Expert
Symposium in Fukushima on Radiation and Health.
This symposium was held from September 26-27,
2016, hosted by The Nippon Foundation as part of
its work related to the Fukushima disaster.

In Hokkaido, polar lows and other polar weather
phenomena are causing problems for residents,
but various substances of Siberian origin travel
great distances on the prevailing westerly winds,
sometimes making their way into the trees of
Hokkaido. On April 26, 1986, the radioactive
substance strontium 90 emanated from the No. 4
reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant due to
the meltdown of its core. By chance, after
conducting growth ring analysis of an elm tree that
had fallen when Hokkaido was struck by a typhoon,
we learned from trace amounts detected in the ring
corresponding to 1986 that strontium 90 from the
Chernobyl disaster had reached Hokkaido.
On the other hand, radioactive material resulting
from the core meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi
Nuclear Power Plant on March 11, 2011 reached
Northern Europe, which naturally means that this
incident, with its consequent impact on the
atmosphere, has become a global problem.

Japan is the only country to have suffered the effects
of atomic bombs, but it is strange that the national
government is not raising awareness about the
nuclear disaster among its people through the
sharing of appropriate documents with local
governments. These documents should contain
information on issues that we should have learned
from the nuclear disaster, starting from the origins of
the disaster, and including information on the
aftereffects of nuclear radiation and how to prevent
further contamination. Nuclear power companies,
which are said to be maliciously hiding this
information, may be exerting significant influence to
keep this information suppressed, but now, after the
government has decided to approve atomic energy,
I think it is time to raise awareness on these issues.
While I cannot say that the following articles fall into
the category of awareness-raising literature on these
issues, I do recommend that my readers have a look
at them.

北川先生_図.PNG
- AV Yablokov, et. al. (Supervising Translator Jun
Hoshikawa), “Chernobyl: Consequences of the
Catastrophe for People and the Environment,”
Iwanami Shoten, 2013.

- Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board,
“Lessons Learned from the Fukushima Nuclear
Accident for Improving Safety of U.S. Nuclear
Plants; Phase 1 and 2,”
The National Academies Press, 2016.

Hiromitsu Kitagawa
Visiting Research Fellow

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Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Security in the Eurasia Blue Belt and Sea Power [2018年02月21日(Wed)]

This blog post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI's blog
on April 12, 2017.

---

In 1492 Christopher Columbus departed Palos de la
Frontera in Spain and reached the American
Continent. It was wise of him to proceed to the west
over the Atlantic Ocean. In those days, Europeans
never imagined that the Earth could be round.
There was a rumor that a flaming sea was spread
all over the northern regions. If he had headed for
the north in order to disprove the superstition, his
voyage would not have been blocked by fire, but an
ice-covered ocean. It will be spring soon in Japan,
but as a result of the sea ice which used to close
off the Arctic Ocean shrinking with the progression
of global warming, the Arctic Ocean is beginning to
be used as a sea route now.

What does it mean now that the Arctic Ocean has
become a sea route? A ship leaving a port in Japan
can proceed northward over the Pacific Ocean,
westward after entering the Arctic Ocean from the
Bering Sea until reaching the Atlantic Ocean,
southward to enter the Mediterranean Sea, travel
through the Suez Canal, eastward over the Indian
Ocean and can return to Japan via the Malacca
Strait. Next, the same ship can proceed toward the
Bering Sea, but this time proceed eastward over the
Arctic Ocean until reaching the Atlantic Ocean,
southward along the east coast of the American
Continent, through the Panama Canal, northward
along the west coast of the American Continent,
then can return to Japan by proceeding westward
over the Pacific Ocean. If the ship chooses to stop
in Africa and South America, rather than go
through the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal,
it will also have the additional option of rounding
the Cape of Good Hope and traveling through
the Magellan Strait.

Such a long-distance, uninterrupted journey will
become possible. For now, let us call the former
route the “Eurasia Blue Belt” and the latter route the
“Rim America-Pacific Blue Belt.” The term “sea lane,”
which signifies the area between two ports, might
better be called a “Sea Circle” around the Earth.
We might soon have regular container ship lines
which could encircle the Earth like a trunk line or
bulk cargo ships which could circumnavigate the
world while delivering packages like a home
delivery service.

Focusing on the “Eurasia Blue Belt” within the
“Sea Circle,” our institute has been conducting a
three-year research study since 2015 entitled
“Security in the Eurasia Blue Belt and Sea Power”
and hosting an international conference each year.
If the “Sea Circle” becomes a viable option,
how will the maritime security environment
change? How can we ensure navigation safety?
Will a paradigm shift occur in the concept of
“Sea Power?” Do we need to conduct a fundamental
and urgent review of classical geopolitics?
How should Japan and the international community
respond? The purpose of our research study is to
find answers to these questions.

EBB.jpg
Concept of the Eurasia Blue Belt
(Created by the author)

We held two international conferences focusing on
the sea area from the East and South China Seas
to the Indian Ocean in the first year (2015) and
the sea area from the Mediterranean Sea to the
North Atlantic Ocean in 2016. We invited experts
from the major countries which have influential
power over each sea area and discussed the
following: (1) the security environment,
(2) the development of globalization and
geopolitical considerations, (3) how to ensure
navigational safety and what exactly Sea Power
should be, and (4) how to stabilize the maritime
security environment.

2017 is the final year of the research study, and
we will hold an international conference focusing
on the sea area from the Arctic Ocean to the
North Pacific Ocean. We will also complete a report
on the results of our three-year study and come up
with ideas on how to ensure navigational security
within the Eurasia Blue Belt and how Sea Power
could be used to achieve this. Our institute will
continue to promote research studies with
foresight and originality.

Kazumine Akimoto
Special Research Fellow

Posted by OPRI at 15:00 | この記事のURL | コメント(0)
Ocean Newsletter No.419 (Jan. 20, 2018) [2018年01月23日(Tue)]

The Ocean Policy Research Institute (OPRI) is
pleased to announce its latest English publication,
as part of its efforts to disseminate information on
ocean issues both in and outside Japan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OPRI publishes a Japanese-language newsletter
called the "Ocean Newsletter" twice a month, with
the aim of providing people of different viewpoints
and backgrounds with a forum for discussion and to
contribute to the formulation of maritime policies
conducive to coexistence between mankind and
the ocean.

Please find the latest English article in our
newsletter below.

No. 419 (Jan. 20, 2018)
Development of the Sea Grant College
Program in the US and prospects worldwide


Darren T. LERNER
(Director, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College
Program)

It is our sincere hope that the article will provide
useful insights on policy debate in Japan and help to
foster global policy dialogue on various ocean issues.

Posted by OPRI at 17:04 | この記事のURL | コメント(0)
Ocean Jigsaw Puzzle Piece Series: Human Resource Training and Networking [2018年01月17日(Wed)]

*This blog post was originally uploaded in
Japanese to OPRI's blog
on October 12, 2016.

---

For the second piece of the puzzle, I would like to
introduce the WMU Sasakawa Fellowship in-aid
Program
, which this foundation operates with
support from The Nippon Foundation.

While many people may immediately recognize
WMU, for those of you who do not, it is short for
the World Maritime University, a graduate
university in Malmo, Sweden, which was founded in
1983 by the International Maritime
Organization
(IMO).

The IMO is a UN agency that promotes international
cooperation in relation to maritime issues.
Since 1987, four years after the foundation of the
university, The Nippon Foundation has been
providing scholarships to promote human resource
training for those who will be future leaders in the
maritime and marine fields. Eligible candidates for
these scholarships include young people from the
Asia-Pacific region who are involved in maritime
administration. Thus far, The Nippon Foundation
has provided support for 582 young people from
70 nations. After graduating, these young people
take on key roles in government agencies,
educational institutions, and other similar
organizations in their own countries, and play
active leadership roles in the maritime and marine
fields.

The WMU Sasakawa Fellowship in-aid Program
provides financial support not only for human
resource training, but also for another key pillar
in the form of a network of Sasakawa-funded
graduates (Sasakawa Fellows). In September 2016,
a gathering of enrolled Sasakawa Fellowship
students was held at WMU. This gathering can be
considered the foundation from which students
build their networks. This event was held to provide
the students with a place where they can interact
with each other, to have them discuss the benefits
and possibilities of a network of Sasakawa Fellows,
to encourage them to be aware of their positions as
Sasakawa Fellows, and to voluntarily take part in
building a post-graduation network.
We believe that this event is a starting point for
enrolled Sasakawa Fellowship students to gain
mutual awareness of each other, and to give their
Sasakawa Fellows network a more solid form
after graduation.

Since its founding, WMU has accepted students
from roughly 50 countries every year. Living in
such a multicultural environment is one of the
unique features of WMU. By sharing their lives
with students from diverse cultures, customs,
religions, and beliefs, students learn how to build
relationships founded on mutual trust, which may
prove to be a vital key that enables them to solve
commonly shared issues extending beyond the
borders of countries and organizations. I wish
these students the utmost success in the future.

WMU.jpg
From the September 2016 gathering for enrolled
WMU Sasakawa Scholarship students


Shinichi Ichikawa
Manager, Ocean Education Division

Posted by OPRI at 15:00 | この記事のURL | コメント(0)
Ocean Newsletter No400 (Apr.5.,2017) [2017年04月05日(Wed)]
We publish a Japanese-language newsletter called the
"Ocean Newsletter" twice a month. (previously known
as the "Ship & Ocean Newsletter")

The "Ocean Newsletter" seeks to provide people of
diverse viewpointsand backgrounds with a forum for
discussion and to contribute to the formulation of 
maritime policies conducive to coexistence between
mankind and the ocean.


We would like to inform you that we posted the following
papers in English recently.

No400 (Apr.5.,2017)
Birth of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC)
By Dae-Yeon MOON (North Pacific Fisheries Commission)
https://www.spf.org/opri/projects/information/newsletter/latest/latest01.html

It is our sincere hope that the Papers will provide useful
insights on policy debate in Japan and help to foster
global policy dialogue on various ocean issues.

Posted by OPRI at 10:23 | この記事のURL | コメント(0)
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