The Nippon Foundation and the Japan Coast Guard held a press conference on 18 July to announce the Coast Guard Global Summit, a forum of senior maritime safety officials to be held in Tokyo on 14 September, with a total of 40 countries, territories, and institutions expected to participate. This summit is also expected to issue a joint statement calling for cooperation that transcends existing bilateral and regional frameworks.

At the press conference, Admiral Satoshi Nakajima, commandant of the Japan Coast Guard, referred to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s message delivered to the launch ceremony of the Umi-to-Nippon Project (The Ocean and Japan Project), held on Japan’s Marine Day public holiday (17 July). In his message, Prime Minister Abe stressed the importance of global-level cooperation among institutions on the front line of maritime safety issues, along with diplomacy, toward achieving free and safe seas.