"Blue Economy" In the Ocean Super Year 2025

With the UN Ocean Conference being held in 2025, the year has been dubbed the Ocean Super Year for holding discussions on a wide range of international ocean-related rules. With oceans facing crises dues to global warming, plastic pollution, and resource depletion, the “Blue Economy” is a key concept for shaping the future of our oceans, aiming to achieve both economic growth and sustainability.
As a maritime nation, the people of Japan have long cultivated practices that closely reflect the principles of the “Blue Economy”. Sunami Atsushi, President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation, shares proposals on how Japan envisions the “Blue Economy” as a maritime nation, while expanding on video reports from across Japan in the course of this program.
The first segment focuses on an initiative in Miura City of Kanagawa Prefecture, known as the birthplace of the Japanese expression, Umigyo (ocean-based industries).
The second segment features Naoshima Island of Kagawa Prefecture, known internationally as an island of contemporary art, and an initiative in the greater Setouchi area to revitalize the region.
The third segment introduces an initiative by children in Hannan City of Osaka Prefecture to restore coastal seaweed.
The fourth segment looks at the J Blue Credit system for quantifying and issuing credits for CO₂ absorbed by coastal seaweed, with the initiative in Hannan City as an example, and how this system helps to attract wider support.
Through these stories, we present Japan’s unique vision for how people can co-exist with the ocean.