Welcome GreetingYour Imperial

Highness Prince Takamado, Director

General Kitagawa of the Environment Agency, Mr. Kondo,EMECS '90 chairman, Mr. Long, environment director fortheOrganizationfor

Economic

Co-operationandDevelopment (OECD), Mr. Manos of the Mediterranean
Action Plan (UNEP), Mr. Takechi, director general of theWater Quality Bureau of the Environment Agency of Japan,mayors

andprefecturalgovernors

fromcities

andprefectures bordering on the Seto Inland Sea, anddistinguished participants who have come here today: it gives me great pleasure towitness the opening of EMECS '90, the worldÕs first conference held to explore anddiscuss the problems facing enclosed coastal seas. On behalf of the Governors andMayors' Conference on the Environmental Protection of the Seto Inland Sea, I would
like to extend a warm welcome to the many participants from both Japan and othercountries around the world.
Since ancient times, the Seto Inland Sea has been a major artery for transit in Japan.
The Seto Inland Sea has nurtured and supported manÕs activities, contributing to ourcultural heritage and the development of such fields as education, industry andeconomics. In order to continue these benefits in the future as well, it is our common
responsibility to preserve and enhance the beauty and purity given to us by nature. TheGovernors and MayorsÕ Conference on the Environmental Protection of the Seto Inland
Sea has worked diligently to this end. And now, as projects are underway to complete
three new bridges across the Seto Inland Sea, linking Honshu with Shikoku, we arepoised to enter a new era. Nevertheless, we must protect this region, not only for the 30
million people who live in the Seto Inland Sea region, but for the sake of all the people ofJapan. We must strive to create a beneficial environment for the coming of the newcentury, to recreate a region that people both at home and abroad can admire and beproud of. This is task of vital importance.
In similar fashion to the Seto Inland Sea, many enclosed coastal seas around the world
have made a major contributions to man's activities. They have nurtured culture incountless forms, and they are now faced with the same difficult environmental problems.
The excellent environment of enclosed coastal seas is not for our generation to benefit

from alone; it must be passed on to future generations as well. It is my hope that, atEMECS '90, we can teach and learn from each other, sharing our information andexperiences, and together find a way to cope with the problems dealing with thepreservation and appropriate use of such environments in these regions.
All of the governors and mayors, myself included, have agreed, at this general session,
to earnestly support the creation of a body to study the Seto Inland Sea in order toensure the success of EMECS '90 and preserve and enhance the environment of the Seto
Inland Sea in the future. We have great hopes that EMECS '90 will prove to be a fruitful
opportunity to deal with the many problems facing the Seto Inland Sea. The fact that
this conference has at last become a reality is due to the admirable efforts of Chairman
Kondo, the Executive Committee and all of the many other participants. We havereceived support from many different directions, all aimed at making this conference agreat success.
Once again I would like to express my gratitude for this support, and my pleasure atbeing here at the opening of this conference. Thank you very much.