Arab News Japan

TOKYO: State Minister for Foreign Affairs MIYAJI Takuma told the closing session of the 12th annual World Ocean Summit & Expo in Tokyo on Thursday that Japan is keen to conserve the marine environment, Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported.

Miyaji noted that Japan, with over 14,000 islands and 34,000 km of coastline, is a major maritime nation and shares its knowledge and skills with other nations to help conserve the marine environment and live alongside the oceans in a sustainable way.

He added that Japan aims at achieving prosperity with the international community based on international partnerships and cooperation.

He pointed out that Japan has made great efforts to tackle marine plastic waste, combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and on blue carbons. 

He told the Summit, which was co-hosted by Economist Impact and the Nippon Foundation, that conservation of the marine environment and sustainable use of the ocean are topics that are being discussed  internationally and expressed Japan’s intention to continue to engage in diplomatic activities on ocean affairs so that discussions will lead to further strengthening efforts in this area.

The focus of the 12th annual summit was on the transition to a sustainable ocean economy, ocean stewardship, strategies to restore ocean health, advancements in marine technology and collaborative efforts to address ocean pollution.