World’s 1st Simultaneous Monitoring and Support for Multiple Autonomous VesselsCommercial operations underway for Level 4 autonomous vessels

The Nippon Foundation launched the MEGURI2040 Fully Autonomous Ship Program in February 2020 with the aims of addressing the issue of crew shortages from population decline and reducing accidents caused by human error, by achieving autonomous navigation and implementing stable transport for people and goods. All four of the project’s vessels have passed inspection as autonomous vessels by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. This makes Japan the world’s first country with autonomous vessels able to operate autonomously, with a passenger ferry and multiple cargo vessels operating at Level 4 automation.^[1] The world’s first^[2] test of simultaneous navigational support for multiple autonomous was recently held.
Stage 2, the culmination of MEGURI2040, aims for social implementation of autonomous vessels, and has focused not only on technological development but also the creation of rules and promoting social acceptance. Major successes to date have included the project’s contribution to the creation of the world’s first set of domestic rules for autonomous vessels (a vessel inspection framework) and the implementation of commercial operations based on those rules. The passenger ferry Olympia Dream Seto passed inspection as an autonomous vessel in December 2025, followed by the newly built container vessel GENBU in January 2026 and the Ro-Ro vessel Hokuren Maru No. 2 in March, and all have entered commercial operation. Stage 2’s final demonstration vessel, the coastal container vessel Mikage, passed its Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism inspection on March 25, making it possible for all four of the project’s autonomous vessels to operate autonomously.

The project’s wide-ranging successes also include the development of land-based Fleet Operation Centers that are able to support multiple vessels simultaneously, providing crews with new ways of working and making navigation more efficient.

The Nippon Foundation will continue to work with the project’s participating companies to create rules and legal frameworks for automated and autonomous navigation while promoting social understanding, with the aim of having autonomous navigation account for 50% of domestic shipping by 2040.

I am confident that autonomous vessels will make a major contribution to the reduction of crews’ workloads and the creation of new work styles, and that this will lead to the maintenance of coastal shipping and remote island routes, which are important parts of Japan’s logistics infrastructure. I hope that by introducing autonomous vessels, we will strengthen the competitiveness of Japan’s maritime industries, with their advanced technological capabilities, and create a future in which the next generation of children can feel a sense of possibility in maritime industries.

The problem of worker shortages is becoming more acute across all of Japan. It will therefore be important to use autonomous navigation technologies to make navigation more efficient, and I have high expectations for autonomous vessels. Going forward, our ministry will analyze the data collected with the help of MEGURI2040’s four vessels as we pursue the creation of an environment for full-fledged commercial navigation by around 2030.

The development and use of technologies for autonomous navigation demonstrated to date by the MEGURI2040 project’s four vessels will reduce crews’ workloads and make life on ships more rewarding. In addition, the safe and stable operation of these vessels will create safer workplace for crews, and I hope that this will ensure that the next generation will take over as crew members.

In Stage 2 of the MEGURI2040 autonomous ship project, four vessels have all passed the Japanese government’s inspections for vessels as autonomous vessels, and have begun commercial navigation using automated navigation functions. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) established an Advisory Committee on Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) in June 2024 to consider things like safety standards and inspection methods related to MASS, and the group published its findings in June 2025. For a vessel to operate as a MASS, it needs to undergo testing to confirm that sensors, (collision avoidance route) planners, and other components operate appropriately (automating the tasks previously performed by ships’ crews). Japan is the world’s first country to set inspection standards for autonomous vessels.