4 Neighboring Prefectural Governors Join 1,000-Person Seto Inland Sea Cleanup EventLanding craft, special vehicle, and heavy equipment

A total of roughly 1,000 people, including the governors of the four prefectures, The Nippon Foundation Honorary Chair Yohei Sasakawa, members of local fisheries cooperatives and companies, junior and high school students, and other local volunteers participated at the four locations. Using landing craft (private ferries), a special vehicle, heavy machinery, and other equipment, they collected a total of roughly 26 tons of debris in one day on coastlines, estuaries, and other places where the topography and climate make it easy for debris to accumulate.

The four prefectures generate a total of roughly 388 tons^* of trash annually, of which approximately 302 tons is collected by public services. The project has therefore set a goal of a turnaround to reduce the amount of debris in the Seto Inland Sea by continuously collecting 86 tons of debris annually until March 2028.

To achieve that goal, The Nippon Foundation will use the knowledge gained from this event to continue to promote the creation of efficient models for collecting debris that is scattered around places like remote islands, peninsulas, and estuaries that are difficult for people to reach, while also promoting public awareness of the issue of ocean debris and opportunities to reduce the amount of debris.

The islands off the coast of Kagawa Prefecture have coastlines where debris from cities tends to accumulate as a result of seasonal winds and tides, and Teshima is not an exception. On the day of the cleanup, so much household trash and fishery-related debris was collected that two garbage trucks and another truck were transported to the island by ferry so that the debris could be loaded directly onto them.

Large amounts of residential and fishing-related trash drift onto the coast along the northern side of the Sadamisaki Peninsula, and seasonal winds cause this to become mixed with sand from the beach and accumulate. On this day, a landing craft was used to transport heavy equipment equipped with sieves to separate the sand from the large volume of debris and efficiently collect the plastic trash. So much debris was collected that a crane and forklift brought by the landing craft were used to move it.

The Seto Inland Sea is one of the world’s most beautiful oceans, and the Setouchi Oceans X project was launched with the endorsements of the governors of Okayama, Hiroshima, Kagawa, and Ehime prefectures. I look forward to working together with everyone to make the Seto Inland Sea a model for the rest of the world by March 2028.

It is difficult to collect the large volume of debris that washes up on remote islands. Today we have collected a large amount of debris in cooperation with The Nippon Foundation and related prefectures, but these activities need to continue. With regard to Kagawa Prefecture, I would like to step up our human resource development and other measures to address residential trash and collect debris from difficult-to-access remote islands.

Today’s cleanup activity at Arajiro Kaigan reconfirmed the importance of collecting debris before it flows into the ocean. Okayama Prefecture is using subsidies to build a framework for ongoing activities and will continue to support this building momentum. Our prefecture has many irrigation channels, and we are identifying hot spots to promote collection activities in areas of the prefecture where they are most needed.

This joint activity among four prefectures was an important opportunity for participants to share their thoughts and raise awareness. Roughly 60% of the debris that washes onto the shores of Hiroshima Prefecture is related to fishing, and in particular much of this comes from oyster cultivation, so we are cooperating with local people engaged in these activities to promote thorough management and collection of plastic foam. I hope that measures to reduce plastic and prevent it from flowing into the ocean will be strengthened across the entire Seto Inland Sea going forward.

Today’s cleanup at Goshogahama, using heavy machinery to collect debris more efficiently, reconfirmed the need to address this issue swiftly in order to pass on a beautiful Seto Inland Sea to the next generation. Together with The Nippon Foundation, we have been using landing vehicles to collect trash around the Nanyo area, and going forward, I hope that local towns, fishery cooperatives, and volunteers will cooperate to maintain the coastline after the trash has been collected.