The Nippon Foundation, Economist Impact Co-host World Ocean Summit in Tokyo to Instigate Action for Sustainable Ocean Economy (1)
Published on April 24, 2025
The Nippon Foundation and Economist Impact, part of London-based multinational media company The Economist Group, co-hosted the 12th World Ocean Summit in Tokyo on March 12-13. This was the first time the summit was held in Japan.
The event brought together some 750 experts from over 50 countries, representing the widest cross-section of the ocean community from business and finance, government, national and international policymakers, civil society and academia.
With over 14,000 islands, 347,000 kilometers of coastline and a blue economy that is forecasted to reach 28 trillion yen (about $199 billion) by 2030, Japan as a maritime nation offers a rich cultural and historical perspective, Economist Impact said.
Addressing the first-day session, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba expressed his commitment to making Japan a maritime power that takes greater responsibility for maritime security and peace. “We wish to deepen cooperation with coast guards and navies of other nations, including Southeast Asian countries, to maintain peace at sea,” he said.
The prime minister serves as the director-general of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy established in the Cabinet Office in 2007.
The annual summit was designed to instigate action to develop a sustainable ocean economy and to encourage new partnerships across industries with NGOs, scientists, technology developers and investors.
By bringing together all stakeholders in the ocean ecosystem, the conference provided the perfect platform to inspire new synergies, solutions and strategies on the track to meet the 2030 targets in UN SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) 14－conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
(To be continued)