## (3) Responding to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO)

As one of the world’s premier shipping and shipbuilding nation, Japan actively participates in IMO activities and plays a leading role. In January 2012, a Japanese national was appointed Secretary-General for the first time. Beginning with organizational and budgetary reforms of IMO, important initiatives are being promoted for measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships, action against piracy off the coast of Somalia, and ensuring the safety of passenger ships among others and our nation is also actively contributing to deal with these issues.

For the ILO, regarding the Maritime Labour Convention adopted in 2005 for the improvement of working conditions of ship crew and establishment of fair competition conditions for international maritime transport, initiatives are being promoted for the conclusion of this convention including the implementation of deliberations and coordination regarding the formulation of domestic legislation congruent with the convention for domestic stakeholders.

## (4) Responding to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

ICAO establishes certain rules for the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation and the healthy and economic operation of international air travel and transport activities. Our nation is the second highest financial contributor among member nations and also as a Council Member State of the first category (States of chief importance in air transport), participates actively in various ICAO activities to contribute to the development of international civil aviation.

## 3 Multilateral and Bilateral Initiatives in Various Sectors

## (1) Construction Sector

In May 2012 the “Seminar on Advancing Steel Structure for High-Rise Building in Singapore” hosted to promote and raise awareness of steel structure architecture in Southeast Asia, in July of the same year the Taiwan-Japan Conference on Public Construction Interchange, October of the same year the Second Indo-Japan Construction Forum, and in February 2013 the Japan-Mongolia Construction Investment Seminar was held for the purpose of solving issues in the construction sector and establishing cooperative relationships. Also, in March of the same year, the Fourth Viet Nam-Japan Conference on Construction was held for the purpose of establishing a cooperative relationship for developing human resources for the construction sector.

## (2) Water Management and National Land Conservation Sector

In Vietnam a memorandum of understanding on cooperation for water resources facilities management was signed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in June 2012 and a seminar was hosted there in November, strengthening cooperation in the water resources sector. Technical cooperation is being carried out in accordance with the memorandum of cooperation in the field of sewage signed with the Ministry of Construction in 2010.

In Indonesia, cooperation is being carried out through a workshop co-hosted with the Ministry of Public Works held in January 2013, bilateral sewage water recycling water quality evaluation committee, and sediment control workshop based on the memorandum signed with the Ministry of Public Works in February 2012.

For South Africa, based on a joint resolution with the Department of Water Affairs, the Second South Africa-Japan Workshop on Water Resources Management was held in November of the same year in Tokyo to strengthen cooperative relations.

In Bulgaria, a seminar was held in October of the same year explaining the importance of pipeline asset management and Japanese companies were awarded contracts for pipeline renewal in Bulgaria.

Japan participated in INTERPRAEVENT, an international research society, held every four years for disaster prevention such as sediment disasters and floods as well as sediment control officials' conference and fostered exchanges with five countries including Switzerland and Austria.

With South Korea, China, France, Italy, and the United States, bilateral conferences are held on rivers and water resources management for information exchange and technical cooperation.