The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is a collaborating partner in the Arctic PASSION project. Since the early 1990s, JAMSTEC has played an important role in international science community for Arctic research and has devoted observations in the Arctic Ocean using research vessels, moorings, ice drifting buoys and researches on past, ongoing and future changes in the Arctic region caused by climate change in cooperation with many institutes of Arctic nations and international scientific frameworks. Along with growing concern for global climate change and interests in the Arctic issues, Japan has been admitted to be an Observer of the Arctic Council since 2013 and is expected to make further contribution to the Arctic issues from scientific points of view.¹

JAMSTEC is constructing the Arctic research vessel “ARV Mirai II”, and will conduct Arctic Ocean observation cruises as an international research platform. To discuss the observation plan, international collaboration, and various topics related to Arctic environmental changes, the First International Workshop on Arctic Ocean observation was held in Tokyo on November 18-19 2024. Following the first workshop and based on discussions held in Japan as well as within several international projects and frameworks, JAMSTEC has compiled the First Mid-term Plan for Arctic Ocean Observations with the ARV Mirai II. Based on the Plan, the second international workshop for Arctic Ocean observation was held in Yokohama on October 27, 2025, to share information related to recent and future Arctic Ocean observation and to discuss and develop concrete and specific future observation plan with ARV Mirai II with advice from the participants.² 

A group photo in front of Arctic research vessel Mirai-II. Photo provided by JAMSTEC. 

Group photo of the second international workshop for Arctic Ocean observation. Photo provided by JAMSTEC.

Arctic PASSION research was presented by

• Anna Nikolopoulos (UiT The Arctic University of Norway) on 'The pan-Arctic network of DBOs'
• Craig Lee (University of Washington) on 'The Arctic Ocean Regional Alliance (ArORA)'
• Jeremy Wilkinson (British Antarctic Survey) on EU funded research projects and Arctic PASSION

Arctic PASSION's coordinator, Michael Karcher, participated in a panel discussion on the EU's future plans for international collaboration, together with Takashi Kikuchi (JAMSTEC), Capt. Duke Snider (Martech Polar Consulting Ltd) and Hiroyuki Enemoto (NIPR and IASC).

Anna Nikolopoulos. Photo provided by JAMSTEC. 

Craig Lee. Photo provided by JAMSTEC. 

Jeremy Wilkinson. Photo provided by JAMSTEC. 

A panel discussion on the EU's future plans for international collaboration. Photo provided by JAMSTEC.

ISAR 8 group photo. Photo provided by JAMSTEC. 

In the same week, the ISAR-8, The Eightth International Symposium on Arctic Research took place in Hachioji, Japan, from October 27th - 31st 2025. Also here Arctic PASSION contributed several reflections on project results: 

• Anna Nikolopoulos (UIT) invited presentation on 'The pan-Arctic Network of Distributed Biological Observatories – Increasing our Understanding of Changes to Arctic Marine Ecosystems by Enhancing existing Observing Capacities'
• Session on 'Arctic Observing Network and international collaboration – perspectives from Asia, Europe and North America' chaired by Jeremy Wilkinson (BAS) and Michael Karcher (AWI) with presentations and discussions with presenters form Arctic PASSION (Malik Naumann (AWI), Craig Lee (UW), Michael Karcher (AWI), Margot Knapen (ULund), Talia Wells (AINA) and others
• There were also presentations by Volker Rachold (AWI), Jonathan Bamber (UBristol) and Evgenii Salganik (AWI)

Furthermore an SAS side meeting, a SAON Board meeting and a ROADS Advisory Panel open partnership meeting were co-organized by the project partners.

1. https://www.jamstec.go.jp/iace/e/, accessed 05/12/2025

2. The second international workshop on Arctic Ocean Observation | Event & Media | [JAMSTEC] Arctic Research Vessel Project, accessed 05/12/2025