On March 25, 2004, Yohei Sasakawa attended the
inaugural ceremony for a new fellowship
program at the International Maritime Law
Institute (IMLI).
The fellowship falls in line with the interests
of both The Nippon Foundation and the institute
itself, in that it aims to focus primarily on
people from developing countries who 1) could
not otherwise afford to attend, and 2) can be
expected to return to their countries after
graduation to help in the development of the
national maritime legal structure.

IMLI was established in Malta in 1988, under
the auspices of the International Maritime
Organization, a UN institution that has
governed global maritime issues since 1948.
Over the years, more than 200 students from
over 80 countries have received advanced
degrees from IMLI. The majority of the
countries that have sent students to the
institution can be considered to belong to the
developing world. 34 African nations have been
involved, 10 nations from the South Pacific,
and 17 nations from Asia ex-Japan.
Additionally, IMLI demonstrates a high level of
commitment to the elimination of sex
discrimination, reserving fully half of its
student places for women.

There are two major facets to IMLI's work. First, it serves as an
international center for training specialists in maritime law.
Secondly, it disseminates expertise around the globe on
international shipping and maritime law. Its long-term aim is to
develop cadres of legal personnel in developing countries that can
regularly and swiftly incorporate changes to international maritime
law into national systems.

This raison d'etre fits well with The Nippon Foundation's own
mission to aid developing countries in the nation-building process.
A large part of our focus is on the ocean, making IMLI's work
doubly attractive to us.

For this reason, the two organizations decided to create a new
Fellowship, funded by the Foundation, and run by IMLI. Over the
course of two school years, 19 fellowships will be granted to
people at the master's level. Fellowships must be granted to
students from a wide range of nations, and for the 2003-4 school
year will include seats for people from Thailand, Bangladesh and
Japan, among others.

IMLI is an important institution. The international scope of the
network of maritime legal experts that it is creating continues to
be an invaluable aid to the development of the ocean. As these
people work, both together and with their respective governments,
the cooperative spirit that develops in this field will come to
truly fit the global nature of our planet's most global resource--
the ocean.

Further information about the fellowship and about IMLI can be
found in the newspaper articles reproduced on the following pages.


Writer: James Huffman