2 Japan and the Law of the Sea: Key Historical …
37
banks and laboratories) and even in silico resources (such as information in databases
and resources created through computer simulations). At an even more fundamental
level, opinion remains sharply divided as to whether the governing principle ought
to be the freedom of the high seas or the common heritage of mankind.
On 24 December 2017, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 72/249,
according to which the Assembly ‘decides to convene an intergovernmental conference, under the auspices of UN, to consider the recommendations of the Preparatory
committee on the elements and to elaborate the text of an internationally binding
instrument under the Convention’.
63 The first session of the Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC) on BBNJ took place between 4 and 17 September 2018. At the
time it was decided that three more sessions would be held by the first half of 2020.
As the IGC proceeds, it will receive close scrutiny to see how the pursuit of new
common goals, namely, the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity,
impacts the framework for separate regulatory regimes and how the existing maritime
order is restructured as a result. Indeed, the protection of marine BBNJ is a crucial
issue for the whole of mankind.
64
Article 2 of the Basic Act on Ocean Policy in Japan provides that “the development
and use of the oceans are the basis of existence for the economy and society of our
State.” In contemporary times, whilst the Japanese economy relies less on fisheries,
the oceans—including the conservation and management of the living resources and
the protection and preservation of the marine environment—remains crucial to Japan.
For this reason, the development of the international maritime order must remain of
crucial importance to Japan. As a party to UNCLOS, Japan must make all efforts to
promote robust and balanced ocean governance, and must remain a key actor, at the
forefront of global efforts.
References
Cai, Y. (2006). International law principles of continental shelf delimitation and Sino-Japanese
East China Sea disputes (p. 27). World Maritime University Dissertations. Retrieved June
30, 2020, from https://commons.wmu.se/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=
1161&context=all_dissertations.
Charney, J. I., & Alexander, L. M. (Eds.). (1993). International maritime boundaries (Vol. I, p.
xlii). Martinus Nijhoff.
Churchill, R. R., & Lowe, A. V. (1999). The law of the sea (3rd ed., p. 77) Juris Publishing Inc.
Gao, J. (2010). The Okinawa trough issue in the continental shelf delimitation disputes within the
East China Sea. Chinese Journal of International Law, 9(1), 143–177.
Hanawa, A. (1978). Japanese waters from a few historical points of view. Journal of Faculty of
Engineering of Tokyo Polytechnic University, 1, 5.
Ishii, Y. (2015). M/V Guanabara: Japan’s first trial on piracy under the Anti-Piracy Act. Maritime
Safety and Security Law Journal, 1, 45–55.
63 UNGA Res 72/249 (24 December 2017) UN Doc A/RES/72/249, paragraph 1.
64 Ricard (2018).
37
banks and laboratories) and even in silico resources (such as information in databases
and resources created through computer simulations). At an even more fundamental
level, opinion remains sharply divided as to whether the governing principle ought
to be the freedom of the high seas or the common heritage of mankind.
On 24 December 2017, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 72/249,
according to which the Assembly ‘decides to convene an intergovernmental conference, under the auspices of UN, to consider the recommendations of the Preparatory
committee on the elements and to elaborate the text of an internationally binding
instrument under the Convention’.
63 The first session of the Intergovernmental
Conference (IGC) on BBNJ took place between 4 and 17 September 2018. At the
time it was decided that three more sessions would be held by the first half of 2020.
As the IGC proceeds, it will receive close scrutiny to see how the pursuit of new
common goals, namely, the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity,
impacts the framework for separate regulatory regimes and how the existing maritime
order is restructured as a result. Indeed, the protection of marine BBNJ is a crucial
issue for the whole of mankind.
64
Article 2 of the Basic Act on Ocean Policy in Japan provides that “the development
and use of the oceans are the basis of existence for the economy and society of our
State.” In contemporary times, whilst the Japanese economy relies less on fisheries,
the oceans—including the conservation and management of the living resources and
the protection and preservation of the marine environment—remains crucial to Japan.
For this reason, the development of the international maritime order must remain of
crucial importance to Japan. As a party to UNCLOS, Japan must make all efforts to
promote robust and balanced ocean governance, and must remain a key actor, at the
forefront of global efforts.
References
Cai, Y. (2006). International law principles of continental shelf delimitation and Sino-Japanese
East China Sea disputes (p. 27). World Maritime University Dissertations. Retrieved June
30, 2020, from https://commons.wmu.se/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=
1161&context=all_dissertations.
Charney, J. I., & Alexander, L. M. (Eds.). (1993). International maritime boundaries (Vol. I, p.
xlii). Martinus Nijhoff.
Churchill, R. R., & Lowe, A. V. (1999). The law of the sea (3rd ed., p. 77) Juris Publishing Inc.
Gao, J. (2010). The Okinawa trough issue in the continental shelf delimitation disputes within the
East China Sea. Chinese Journal of International Law, 9(1), 143–177.
Hanawa, A. (1978). Japanese waters from a few historical points of view. Journal of Faculty of
Engineering of Tokyo Polytechnic University, 1, 5.
Ishii, Y. (2015). M/V Guanabara: Japan’s first trial on piracy under the Anti-Piracy Act. Maritime
Safety and Security Law Journal, 1, 45–55.
63 UNGA Res 72/249 (24 December 2017) UN Doc A/RES/72/249, paragraph 1.
64 Ricard (2018).