Preface
This brochure is the product of the Freedom of Navigation project's 1998-1999 activities.
The major objectives of the project have been 1) to find a way for a maritime Japan to survive in the 21st century by cooperating with other regional countries in building a more stable and peaceful regional security environment, 2) to disseminate knowledge of maritime issues of critical importance for Japan among public opinion leaders such as journalists, academics, security experts, historians and bureaucrats.
Although Japan is known as a major maritime country, a comprehensive maritime forum has not hitherto existed; rather, various government and private research institutes have narrowly focused on specific issues. We have seen our forum on the freedom of navigation growing in terms of the number of participating experts and opinion leaders. This project has already made a significant contribution towards building a new community of experts and opinion leaders focused on Asia-Pacific maritime issues.
The second year of our attempt to organize opinion leaders has been successful in： 1) providing a forum that invites experts and opinion leaders to gather, 2) dealing with a full spectrum of maritime-related issues such as the environment, international law, natural resources and security problems., 3) inviting experts and opinion leaders to write papers on issues of major concern, 4) providing eight bimonthly meetings for discussions among them, 5) translating the views on maritime issues of experts from other Asian countries and the U.S. for dissemination to a wider audience. We also have invited specialists to confer with their Japanese counterparts. We have heard views from the U.S., Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea. In addition, we sent a delegation to Australia for a fruitful discussion and exchange program.
The views expressed in the "1998 Overview Report" are the author's private opinions. They do not necessarily reflect those of the institutes with which the authors are affiliated, nor do they represent the views of the Policy Study Group that supports this project activity.
Finally, the project team members greatly appreciate the generous support by Nippon Foundation.
March 1999
Chairperson "Freedom of Navigation" Project
Sumihiko Kawamura, Rear Admiral (Ret)
