Japan S International Fisheries Policy

Few nations rely upon the ocean as much as Japan for livelihood, culture and transport. The seas have long played a vital role for the Japanese, helping to support the economic and social life of a nation that possesses few resources and little arable land, and sustain a population that has nearly tripled in the last century. Fish are a distinctive feature of the Japanese diet, constituting nearly half of all animal protein consumed – the highest rate in the world. The industry itself has provided an impetus for coastal community growth and national economic development over the past century, while fisheries have worked their way into Japanese culture and customs, serving as a dominant symbol in traditional arts and folklore. This book explores the overarching rationale that motivated Japanese international fisheries policy throughout the post-war period until today, highlighting the importance of international fisheries to Japan and the stature this resource has occupied as a national interest. It provides a comparative view of Japanese foreign policy at various ocean conferences, treaty negotiations, bilateral diplomatic initiatives and other maritime relations that constitute ocean policy over half a century, and investigates the domestic constituents of national policy. Roger Smith argues that the rationale for international fisheries policy may be best viewed as deriving from Japan’s unique defence strategy for its national interests: comprehensive security. Encompassing non-military elements and most importantly defence of economic interests, Japan’s international fisheries policy provides an interesting case study of how comprehensive security is conceptualised and carried out. Taking a broad view of Japan’s international fisheries policies from 1945 to the present, this book highlights the key trends in policy motives and means throughout the post-war period. As such, it will be of great interest to students and scholars of Japanese studies, international and environmental law, resource management and international relations, as well as to policy makers working in the field.

This book deals with China's response to international fisheries law and policy as envisaged in the LOSC framework and post-LOSC fisheries instruments. As the first monograph of its kind dealing with the complex issue of the global fisheries crisis and China's fisheries management practice over a significant period of time, the book builds a bridge between China and the world for a better understanding of Chinese fisheries management. It will be of great value to academics, professionals, and policy-makers alike.

Japan is one of the world’s largest fish-eating countries with a long history, and has developed its own customs and values in terms of managing fisheries resources. The first half of this book introduces the history and institutional features of capture fisheries management in Japan, with 9 case studies from sub-arctic to tropical ecosystems, from sedentary to migratory species, and from small-scale coastal to offshore industrial fisheries. For example, coastal fisheries management is more community-based, and local people have the authority and take priority in the decision-making process. In contrast, offshore fisheries are more industrialized and commercially oriented, and the national government plays a major role in their management. One of the main challenges in world fisheries is to implement the ecosystem approach, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution for its implementation. The second half of this book considers the advantages and limitations of the Japanese fisheries management regime and discusses the necessary environmental policy measures to bridge the gaps between fisheries management and ecosystem-based management. As a case study, management measures in the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage area are analyzed. In closing, the Grand Plan of Japanese fisheries policy for the next 20 years and three future scenarios are presented.

Japan’s fisheries sector is undergoing a major restructuring. The coastal ecological change and natural disasters such as tsunami demand that communities transform or organize resource governance anew. Under the national policy of decentralization to cope with the aging and declining population, the availability of local infrastructure, both physical and social, plays a significant role in the adaptive capacity of the community. This book presents the historical and spatial dynamics of coastal fisheries resource governance in response to different environmental changes, its socio-political context, and challenges raised by academicians. The reader will find the national trends and geographical patterns of the administrative restructuring in the communities and fisheries cooperatives from abundant maps and figures, as well as a rich description of adaptive governance in the scale of region and community by ecological-historical approaches. Comparative analysis of the communities provides a practical framework to understand a variety of local resources in Japan’s coastal regions, which will serve as a guide to the development of alternative adaptive governance in community-based small-scale fisheries in the world.

The regime under which humankind has governed its uses of the ocean is in the process of change—shifting away from the traditional freedom of the seas toward a “mixed†system in which most of the valuable near-shore resources come under coastal jurisdiction. The transition to a new regime has been difficult for many states, most notably Japan, whose rights to use the entire ocean were well protected by the traditional regime. Japan’s response to the need to develop a modern ocean policy— to adapt to the emerging ocean management regime—is the subject of this multiauthor volume. U.S. and Japanese scholars look at what Japan is doing, how, and with what results. They first assess general trends in ocean management, then examine the role of Japan in the international political economy of the oceans, and finally look at Japan’s ocean policy in various sectors: shipbuilding, fisheries, mineral resources, offshore petroleum, and nuclear power generation. Given Japan’s importance in ocean affairs, the authors point out that the lessons that can be learned from its experience are of prime international importance.

Antarctica is the last, most inhospitable frontier on earth, yet it presents a great number of unresolved conflicts between nations, individuals, environmentalists, scientists & business groups. The International Law of Antarctica addresses the crucial question of how international law can respond to claims that will certainly shape tomorrow's Antarctica. The author adopts a policy-oriented approach & focuses on the primary issue of determining the effective norms by which the process of value shaping & sharing develops in Antarctica, & to what extent such norms satisfy the prevailing aspirations of the world community. Where discrepancies are significant policies are proposed that may better meet such aspirations, as well as methods for their implementation. Part I of this study describes the social, power, & legal processes relating to Antarctica; reviews the geographic, technological, economic, & historical context in which these processes evolve, & how their special features affect such processes; & finally postulates the basic community policies with reference to which the process of claims & decisions in Antarctica are analyzed. Part II focuses on national claims to Antarctica by reviewing claims relating to the modes to establish exclusive appropriation of the area. Part III is a detailed examination of specific claims to Antarctica resources: claims to mineral & living resources, & claims relating to space-extension resources, namely, Antarctica sea & air space. It is concluded by an appraisal of the congruence of the existing order of Antarctica with the postulated basic policies, critically reviewing proposals for a new order, & advancing long-term & more immediate alternatives.