Japan is an island country surrounded by the sea.
Almost all of the big cities are located on a coast. Kobe is the typical example. The recent big earthquake in Hanshin District of Kobe taught us that rescue activities using the land route were extremely difficult, while those using the sea route were very effective. Due to the fact that Japan had no medical rescue system via the sea route, such medical activities were limited. For this reason, the necessity of multi-purpose ships and rescue ships for disaster relief are being discussed.