Cooperation

Japan moves to promote rule of law in Arctic

September 20, 2024

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The government is aiming to enhance a free and open international order based on the rule of law in the Arctic — where the presence of Russia and China is growing — to secure opportunities for developing natural resources and expanding seaborne trade.

The Japanese oceanographic research vessel Mirai is currently on a mission in the Arctic Ocean to study environmental changes in the area. | Jiji

To this end, the government is redoubling its diplomatic efforts to strengthen cooperation with the United States and Nordic countries.

In a recent interview, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa stressed that Japan “will not allow (Russia and China) to set exclusionary navigation rules that are inconsistent with the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea or to use natural resources dominantly.”