The Impact of “Belt and Road Initiative” on Japanese Shipping Law

Abstract “Belt and Road Initiative” (BRI) is a Chinese initiative to promote multinational economic cooperation and enhance worldwide prosperity. This Initiative’s impact on other countries’ maritime law and policy is worth exploring. This paper discusses the BRI and its impact on Japanese shipping laws, emphasizing the importance of Sino-Japanese economic cooperation. It is observed that Japanese private enterprises appear to have a more open attitude than that of the Japanese government toward the BRI. By participating in the BRI, Japanese companies can be more involved in international multimodal transport, not only as shippers utilizing the improved rail and sea carriage network to ship their products but also as multimodal transport operators providing logistical services. This may further trigger the development of Japanese shipping law, so that Japan can better benefit from the connectivity brought by the BRI and address new geopolitical challenges created by it.