Haiyang Kaifa yu guanli (Nov 2023)
An Analysis of Japan's Strategic Consideration on the Arctic Route
Abstract
The Arctic Route refers to the sea route connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean through the Arctic Ocean. In recent years, with the reduction of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean in summer, the Arctic Route, as a new maritime transport route, has attracted more and more international attention. The Arctic Route can connect Asia and northern Europe through the shortest sea route, which can shorten the distance by about 40% compared with the existing Suez Canal route. The use of Arctic Route can not only reduce transport days, but also reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, the use of the Arctic Route can also avoid piracy and other problems in the Suez Canal route. In view of the above potential utilization value of Arctic Route, Japan, as an Asian shipping power, attaches great importance to the development and utilization of Arctic Route. In the past decades, Japan has made a series of preparations at the national level for the policy, environmental protection, scientific and technological support and other issues facing the commercial operation of Arctic Route. At the local government level, Hokkaido, leveraging its unique geographical advantages in East Asia and facing the Arctic, strives to build itself into a base for Japan's Arctic waterway development and utilization. Japanese civil society paid attention to Arctic Route earlier than the government. This paper focuses on the analysis of Japan's systematic preparations for the commercial operation of Arctic Route at different levels from the state to the private company in the past decade, which can provide a reference for China's development and utilization of the Arctic route.
