Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

　

　Good afternoon. On behalf of the organizers of this WMU Japan Sasakawa Fellows Forum please allow me to say a few words in opening.

　

　Humankind has always used the sea for commerce. However, because of the recent wave of globalization, this has never been truer than today. Further, the globalization of commerce is heavily dependent on the maritime transport of commodities. Thanks to such transport, commerce has been globalizing since centuries before globalization was a concept. And today, the number of ships sailing our oceans is higher than ever before. In this state of affairs, the twin issues of maritime safety and the protection of the maritime environment have become vital. To address this, many international agreements have come into being. To truly put these agreements into effect, we must have strong human resources all over the world in the fields of maritime knowledge and technology. However, developing countries still have difficulty obtaining such people. Thus, in 1983, the IMO created the World Maritime University with the aim of nurturing human resources in developing countries.

　

　Then, in 1988, my late father, Ryoichi Sasakawa, created the WMU Sasakawa Scholarship Program to enable more people from developing nations to attend the university. He spent the second half of his life trying to create a world in which differences of ideology, creed, religion and ethnicity are not dividing forces. His motto was ' The world is one family, and all humankind are brothers and sisters'. Today, the young people who gather in Malmo to study maritime issues and technology together are assembled from around the world under the single banner of ' the sea'. They are the very embodiment of my father's motto. You here today are for the most part already involved in some aspect of the maritime industry, be it policymaking safety administration or training. I am sure that you can all feel strongly the fact that maritime world is now moving toward the common goal of safety and efficiency of ocean transport. I am also sure that there are many of you who are caught between international standards and national interests, and those who feel like they are being spun about as they confront the conflicts of interests.

　

　In regard to this, I have one thing to say. It is important to advance the interests of our countries. But at the same time, we must work to understand the differences of other peoples, be they of ideology, creed, religion, nationality or ethnicity. The world is one. All people are brothers and sisters. This, of course, is easy to say, and extremely difficult to put into practice. But we must try. We must work to exercise self-restraint, cooperation and fairness. To do this, we must nurture sympathy and kindness within our own hearts.

　

　Seven years ago, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was enacted. Thus, a new system by which to govern our oceans was created. It established the twelve-nautical-mile law, created territorial waters around archipelagos and established exclusive economic zones. Responsibility for the care and conservation of the marine environment was distributed to the various countries around the globe. Such governed territory amounts to half of our world's oceansÅla body that covers 71 percent of the earth's surface. Thus the entire ocean, including that which is not directly governed by a nearby country is now being cared for cooperatively within the framework of UNCLOS. We can see that the motto ' The world is one family' is the most important idea for this age.

　

　With regard to maritime transport, UNCLOS places a high priority on use of the sea, safe passage through territorial waters and the right to use international straits. When thinking about economic development or about the lives of those who make their living from the sea, this strategy is obviously important. However, the problems of who will devise strategies for maritime safety and who will pay for all of this are not easy ones.

　For example, UNCLOS gives guidelines for the governance of international straits. However, they call for agreement and cooperation between the countries bordering the strait and those who use it. This rule needs to be made more concrete. To this end, The Nippon Foundation has offered a proposal for the Malacca Straits. Under this agreement, all countries involved would cooperate in what is tentatively called the International Cooperative Organization for Safety in the Malacca Straits. Each country would pay according to how often it uses the straits.

　

　Issues like this are a good chance for you to use your knowledge. Other problems, like piracy, are also quite fitting. Your challenge is to take a global stance and to solve these problems one by one in a concrete way. This is the Century of the Sea. The development of this huge resource, so full of unknown potential, is generating both anticipation and at the same time environmental problems.

　

　So now is the time for you WMU fellows who sat and worked together in class. For you in your various countries, whether in government, in education or with NGO's, the further strengthening and development of this network is vital for solving the many problems related to the promotion of maritime affairs and to international cooperation. I hope you answer to the expectations of those who came before you and gave you this chance to learn. It is my wish that you become the driving force for a new age of peace and prosperity, building on the field of maritime development.

　

　Finally, I ask that you all take this opportunity to further this network and its activities. In this way, we can use this Century of the Sea to truly make the world one family.

　

Thank you.

　

　

　

　

　My name is Kenji Tokudome and I am the Director-General for Policy Planning in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. I would like to express my appreciation for the invitation to address the WMU Japan Sasakawa Fellows Forum today.

　

　In particular I would like to welcome participants who have taken the trouble to attend from all corners of the globe, including Sweden. This year, it is indeed a pleasure to be able to welcome the Rector of the World Maritime University, Mr. Laubstein and a delegation of professors as well as graduates from 30 countries, whose attendance ensures the success of this forum.

　In addition I would like pay tribute to the following organizations for their significant contributions: to the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and the Tokyo Foundation for the provision of fellowships to approximately 200 WMU students; to the Ship & Ocean Foundation which is supervising the current fellowship program and which has undertaken the planning of this Fellows Forum; and to the Nippon Foundation for its support of these activities.

　

　As you are all well aware, Japan is totally surrounded by the sea, we are blessed with the bounty of the sea and this country has enjoyed a deep and abiding relationship with the sea down through the ages. Japan has a narrow north-south land mass with a long coast-line so that we are heavily reliant on sea-freight for both domestic and overseas transportation. For that reason, ensuring maritime safety, protecting the marine environment and effecting the smooth passage of marine transportation are all core issues for Japan.

　

　Thus, utilization of the oceans and protection of the marine environment are matters of great importance for our country. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has centralized control of maritime administration covering all the so-called 'hard' and 'soft' aspects of maritime safety and the marine environment to ensure their efficient and effective implementation. These aspects include the marine transport industry that operates shipping, the shipbuilding industry that builds the ships, the education of seafarers, the setting of safety standards for ships, ship inspection and Port State Control. We recognize the importance of marine administration and we strive on a daily basis to improve maritime safety and to protect the marine environment.

　

　From an international perspective the 20th century saw increased industrial activity but was an era that polluted our great global heritage, the sea. In particular, in recent years we have seen large-scale marine pollution such as the Erika and Nakhodka incidents, forcing recognition that the problem of marine pollution is one of the most critical global environmental problems facing all of mankind today.

　

　Within this context, the IMO has enacted conventions for strengthening maritime safety and protecting the marine environment, including the SOLAS Convention and MARPOL Convention and these have proved to be extremely effective. At the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting in April this year, agreement was reached on the push to phase out single-hull oil tankers and a draft of new international convention for the total ban of TBT as an anti-fouling paint on ships. In addition, an even greater issue facing us is the problem of sub-standard ships, ships that do not meet the required international technical standards. To combat this problem it is crucial that maritime authorities in all countries collaborate while implementing activities such as the Quality Shipping Campaign. It is the intention of Japan to cooperate with all nations concerned and to take a positive approach to this issue.

　

　I am fully aware that the majority of participants in attendance today play a vital role in maritime affairs in your respective countries. I trust that this forum will act as a catalyst for the exchange of information and ideas and make a contribution to the improvement of maritime safety and the protection of the marine environment. I also understand that there are approximately 150 WMU Japan Fellows present here today. I hope that these Fellows will take advantage of this opportunity to deepen interaction with other Fellows and to create human support networks.

　

　I would like to conclude my remarks with the hope that this Forum will contribute to the development of the maritime industry, to maritime safety and to the protection of the marine environment. I trust that the WMU continues to prosper and I wish the WMU Japan Fellows and indeed all participants here today, a bright and productive future.