海洋基本計画 資源開発へ産官学の連携図れ

[The Yomiuri Shimbun] April 5, 2013
Industry, govt, academia cooperation needed on resource development
海洋基本計画　資源開発へ産官学の連携図れ（4月4日付・読売社説）

The development of marine energy resources in the seas around Japan needs to be accelerated through cooperation between the industry, government and academic sectors to secure a stable energy supply for the nation's future.
　日本近海に眠る海洋資源の開発を産官学の連携によって加速し、将来の安定的なエネルギー確保につなげたい。

The government has unveiled a draft of its "basic maritime plan," which will serve as the nation's marine policy for the next five years.
　政府が、今後５年間の海洋政策の基本方針となる「海洋基本計画」の原案を公表した。

The Cabinet under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is expected to decide on the policy within the month, making the development of Japan's marine resources a pillar of its growth strategies by considering it "an innovation to bring about new potential."
今月中に閣議決定し、海洋資源開発を「新たな可能性をもたらすイノベーション（技術革新）」と位置付けて成長戦略の柱とする。

With the aim of commercializing resources such as rare earths and methane hydrate, known as "burnable ice," which contains methane gas, the draft lays out the government's plan to improve the system to develop these resources together with the private sector.
　原案は、天然ガスの主成分メタンを含んで「燃える氷」と言われるメタンハイドレートや、レアアース（希土類）などの商業化を目指し、「官民を挙げた開発体制の整備に取り組む」と明記した。

It is entirely appropriate for Japan, which lacks abundant domestic natural resources on land, to make genuine efforts to develop its marine resources.
　資源に乏しく、石油などを輸入に頼る日本が海洋資源開発に本腰を入れるのは、妥当である。

Securing an advantage

To this end, the government succeeded last month in its experimental extraction of methane hydrate from the seabed off the coast of Aichi and Mie prefectures.
　政府は３月中旬、愛知・三重県沖でメタンハイドレートの試験採取に成功した。

The seas near Japan are thought to hold enough methane hydrate to supply it with natural gas for 100 years at current domestic consumption levels.
日本周辺には、国内の天然ガス消費量の約１００年分が埋蔵されているという。

Almost all of the nation's nuclear power plants have stopped operating, pushing up the cost of electricity generation.
　日本では、ほとんどの原子力発電所が運転を停止し、電力コストが増大している。

Securing a new domestic energy source would give the nation an advantage when negotiating the price of liquefied natural gas, which continues to hover at high levels, and that of shale gas, which is expected to be imported from North America and elsewhere.
　新たな国産エネルギーを確保できれば、高値が続く液化天然ガス（ＬＮＧ）や、北米などからの輸入が期待されるシェールガスなどの価格交渉でも有利に働こう。

Yet these marine resources lie under the deep seafloor, and little is known about their topographical distribution. It is therefore vital to develop technologies to probe for and extract these valuable resources in a stable and economically feasible manner.
　ただし、資源が埋まっているのは、深い海底である。その分布さえ正確に把握できていない。安定的かつ経済的に資源を探査・回収する技術の開発が急務だ。

With regard to methane hydrate, the draft sets the goal of "enhancing the relevant technologies so as to commercialize methane hydrate by fiscal 2018."
　メタンハイドレートについて、原案は「２０１８年度を目途(めど)に商業化の実現に向けた技術の整備を行う」との目標を掲げている。

It is thus seen as vital to make use of the private sector's technology and knowledge.
　それには、民間の技術や知見の活用が重要だ。

It will probably take a very long time for the resources to be developed on a commercial basis, and the development costs are likely to be sizable. Close cooperation between industry, government and academia is crucial.
実際の商業化までには長い時間がかかり、開発コストも巨額に上るだろう。産官学の緊密な連携が欠かせない。

Having attached great importance to the development of their own marine resources, China and South Korea are also making efforts through public-private sector cooperation. The further escalation of international rivalry in this field is inevitable.
　中国や韓国も海洋資源開発を重視し、官民一体で取り組んでいる。国際競争が一層激化することは不可避である。

Legal infrastructure needed

The draft has pointed out that to implement all relevant measures, it is necessary to create laws to support Japan's resource development activities within its exclusive economic zone.
　原案は、諸施策を具体化するには、排他的経済水域（ＥＥＺ）内での開発活動の裏付けとなる法整備が必要だと指摘した。

The development of legal foundations for dealing with various issues related to marine resource development, such as the coordination of issues related to fishing rights, are also called for in the draft.
漁業権との調整など、海洋開発に特有の様々な事項について法的基盤をつくることを目指す。

Japan is the sixth-largest country in the world in terms of the total area of its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. For Japan to demonstrate to other countries its basic stance on marine resource development, legislative improvements are needed.
　日本の領海とＥＥＺの合計面積は世界６位と広大だ。資源開発に関する基本姿勢を対外的に示すためにも法整備を進めるべきだ。

In light of China's claim to the Senkaku Islands, demonstrated by the repeated incursions of its vessels in waters near them, the draft also lists measures to protect Japan's territorial land and waters.
　沖縄県の尖閣諸島周辺で続く中国の示威行動などを念頭に、領土・領海を守る施策も列挙されている。

An upgrade to the current arrangements of the Japan Coast Guard and the Self-Defense Forces is urgently needed to reflect these changing realities.
海上保安庁や自衛隊の体制拡充を急がねばならない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 4, 2013)
(2013年4月4日01時25分  読売新聞）