Japan, as an island country surrounded by sea, relies more than 99% of its imports and exports by volume on maritime transport. The maritime industry, which is essential for seaborne trade, therefore plays a key role to sustain our economic activities and livelihood.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic had caused disruptions to the global supply chain, port congestions around major ports have been eased since around mid-2022, partly due to economic slowdown in Europe following the Ukrainian crisis and reduced levels of consumption in the US due to inflation. The situation had also helped improve the supply-demand imbalance in the container shipping sector. However, we still face economic and security challenges exacerbated by high energy prices, and the unstable as well as rapidly changing international environment is continuing to impose significant impacts and challenges on our maritime community. For example, international shipping is facing an urgent need to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions aiming for decarbonization. Also, various initiatives are undertaken to promote innovation in the maritime sector, such as application of automation systems on vessels which can be controlled remotely, to adapt itself to changing needs.
Against this backdrop, the Japan Maritime Center (JMC) will continue to dedicate itself to (1) research activities on maritime-related issues to make policy proposals, (2) provision of support to activities serving public interests in the maritime sector, and (3) operation of the Maritime Library, to contribute to the development of Japan as a maritime nation.
Since March 2022, we have been holding a series of online "JMC Maritime Promotion Seminar". We have also renewed our logo, issued the JMC Report 2021 summarizing the results of our annual activities, and renewed our English pamphlet. We will continuously strive to improve our activities based on the PDCA cycle.
As a core think-tank of the maritime community in Japan, we will aim to contribute to further facilitate cooperation and collaboration among stakeholders in the maritime industry, government agencies and research institutes, to address the increasingly complex challenges relating to the maritime sector, taking into account the rapidly changing environment in the international community and global economy.
We look forward to your understanding and cooperation in our efforts and activities.
April 2023
