ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the importance of the whole process of formation and strengthening of legal order in the international community, as the issues in the Arctic are a part of or closely related to those of the world. The Third Basic Plan on Ocean Policy of Japan adopted in May 2018 emphasises that Japan promotes the maintenance and strengthening of international maritime order based on the “rule of law”, as the universally recognised standard for all ocean activities. This chapter explains how Japan has been actively engaging in various challenges and contributing to tackle them based on diplomacy and the law, with special attention to the issues relating to the sea. Japan’s Arctic policy adopted on 16 October 2015 is firmly embedded within these broader efforts of Japan to promote cooperation in the ocean and strengthen the rule of law in the international community. In this context, this chapter further elaborates how Japan has been contributing to the making and implementing of legally binding instruments relating to the Arctic, such as the Arctic Marine Pollution Response Agreement and the Arctic Science Cooperation Agreement.
