Yohei Sasakawa News

Nippon Foundation is a philanthropic organization active globally with a simple mission, social innovation. While its activities today cross many activities and borders, when founded in 1962 its efforts focused largely on the maritime and shipping fields. Last month in Houston we spoke with Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa, focused specifically on Nippon Foundation’s activities in and around the world’s oceans.(all images copyright and courtesy Nippon Foundation)Please explain the most important activities today for the Nippon Foundation…

Japan's Nippon Foundation and Deepstar signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) recently which essentially will allow Japan to tap the expertise and resources of DeepStar to help Japan discover and recover new-found subsea resources, as well as educate future generations of Japanese. The MOU was signed on May 1, 2018 at the Hotel ZaZa in Houston, and speaking at the event Nippon Foundation Chairman Yohei Sasakawa said "We need to acquire the resources to discover and reach (our) natural resources.

International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Kitack Lim attended the inauguration of the new maritime and ocean policy research institute at the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, Sweden (8 May). Lim, who is also Chancellor of WMU, said that the establishment of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute was of great strategic importance for IMO and, indeed, for all those who seek to advance the global ocean agenda. “The Global Ocean Institute will further WMU’s distinguished legacy of educating maritime and oceans leaders who have the knowledge and responsibility to affect change in their home countries and who will contribute to the global conservation and sustainable use of the ocean,” Lim said.

Ten new research institutes from Europe, North America and Australia have joined the Nereus Program research partnership, bringing the total to 17. Launched in September 2011, the program is an international collaboration between The Nippon Foundation and the University of British Columbia with the aim to make comprehensive forecasts of the ocean’s future, the program has grown into one of the world’s largest research initiatives in its field. Principle investigators from eight…

Yohei Sasakawa, Chairman of the Nippon Foundation, has received the 2014 International Maritime Prize for his contribution to the work of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) over many years and, in particular, his personal commitment to supporting the development of future maritime leaders and his contribution to the enhancement of safety and security in vital shipping lanes. In a ceremony on 23 November, following the first day of the 29th session of the IMO Assembly, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu presented the award, in the form of a silver dolphin, to Mr. Sasakawa. Sekimizu highlighted  Sasakawa’s long-standing dedication to maritime education and training through the initiatives of the Nippon Foundation and its unstinting support to the World Maritime University (WMU)…

Expanded premises for the World Maritime University (WMU) were inaugurated on Monday, May 19, 2015 in Malmö, Sweden, by IMO Secretary-General and WMU Chancellor Koji Sekimizu. WMU is an international educational institute for the maritime community, operating under the auspices of IMO. At close to 6,000m2, WMU’s new facility is nearly double the size of the previous Malmö campus. It provides a new auditorium, multiple research laboratories, seminar rooms and video-conferencing capabilities for hosting international conferences.

Danish Shipowners' Association in collaboration with the World Maritime University; BIMCO; The Nippon Foundation and the Japanese International Transport Institute will focus on maritime corporate social responsibility (CSR) at the Culture Yard in Helsingør on Tuesday November 12, 2013. The conference, entitled " Northern European Shipping CSR Symposium - Making the Business Case for a Sustainable Shipping Industry " derives in part of the Rio +20 sustainable global development based on voluntary participation by private companies . Focus will be both theoretical and practical on how European companies and organizations engaged in CSR and on the triple bottom line, which consists of profit but also social and environmental aspects .

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) celebrated the 30th anniversary of the founding of the World Maritime University (WMU),  based in Malmö, Sweden, with an event which included speeches from the current and former WMU Chancellors & the WMU President. WMU was established at the beginning of the 1980s, when IMO identified a shortage of well-qualified, highly-educated maritime experts, particularly in lesser developed nations. It was to address this gap that IMO…

On July 24 and 25, Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton led a delegation of U.S. maritime officials in meetings in Tokyo with Japanese counterparts to discuss issues of mutual interest and challenges facing the maritime industry, both around the world and in the bilateral trade. The talks reflected the major concern of both countries about the impact on the shipping sector of the rapidly expanding consumption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) around the world. With the surge of new specialized vessels to carry LNG entering service, the demand for qualified seafarers is becoming urgent.

The Nippon Foundation (NF) and the Round Table of international shipping associations (RTisa) (BIMCO, ICS, INTERCARGO & INTERTANKO) are pleased to announce a symposium in Kuala Lumpur on November 24, 2008 to discuss current positive developments in support of safety and protection of the marine environment in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. The governments of , and (the Littoral States), having been consulted on the objectives of the event by the organisers, have welcomed the concept and have undertaken to assist with advice on the scope of the event and with speakers. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has also expressed support for the concept of the symposium…