In January, 10,000 tons of crude oil spilled into the Sea of Japan after a Russian oil tanker sunk off the coast of Japan. This disaster could pose a serious threat to the marine and coastal ecosystems which surround Japan.

Originally it was forecast that the oil slicks left by the sunken oil tanker Nakhodka would flow northward and away from Japan, but wind pushed the oil towards the fragile coastal areas of Japan. As soon as one day after the accident oil was spotted just offshore in southeastern Japan and oil had begun washing up on the Akita Prefecture.

The oil from this tanker could pose serious problems for both coastal and marine areas of Japan. The many species of seabirds and other marine animals could suffer tremendous losses due to this accident. To try to minimize the environmental effects of this spill, 30 patrol vessels and other boats were sent to clean the oil off the surface of the water. A Russian oil sweeper was also mobilized with specialized equipment to clean the oil covered waters. When oil neared the southern coast, an effort to protect the coastline that was launched by a power plant and local fishermen limited the oil's damage.

The degree of environmental damage from this oil spill may not be fully known for years, but it is obvious that the oil will have harmful effects on the coastal and marine ecosystems of Japan. Now that the clean-up effort is over, Japan can only hope that their actions have kept this oil spill from significantly harming the already fragile environment of the Japanese coastal and marine ecosystems.

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