The National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology (MPAT) was established on April 1, 2016, by merging three national research and development institutes: the National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI), the Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI), and the Electronic Navigation Research Institute (ENRI), to strengthen the international competitiveness of the transportation industries and to promote the use of the ocean from a technological perspective. The second mid- to long-term objectives period of MPAT started in April 2023.

In the fields of maritime, port and aviation, we are facing diverse and significant challenges, such as ensuring safety and security in public transportation, coping with increasingly severe and frequent natural disasters and aging infrastructure, industrial utilization of the ocean, meeting growing aviation demand, strengthening the international competitiveness of Japanese industry, working toward carbon neutrality by 2050, and the advancement of digital transformation (DX). We believe that MPAT is expected to solve these technological issues.

During the first mid- to long-term objectives period, MPAT launched cross-disciplinary research projects across three institutes and developed simulation technology for evaluating disaster recovery measures. In the current second mid- to long-term objectives period, the three institutes will further promote collaboration to conduct;

1. R&Ds on disaster prevention and damage minimization measures, such as transport simulators for large-scale disasters caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, storm surges, and high waves, to realize safe and secure society;
2. R&Ds on advanced planning, construction, maintenance, and inspection of offshore wind power generation facilities to promote the use of renewable energy and;
3. R&Ds for contributing to the prevention of environmental pollution, such as oil recovery, which is a problem in the event of ship accidents, for preserving the marine environment.

Also, the three research institutes are deepening research based on their strengths and expertise from the past and will engage in research in the following priority areas.

• National Maritime Research Institute (NMRI):
  • Securing safe maritime transportation
  • Preserving the marine environment
  • Ocean development
  • Developing fundamental technologies for marine transportation
• Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI):
  • Coastal disaster mitigation and restoration
  • Creation, conservation, and utilization of coastal and marine environments, and establishment of a decarbonized society
  • Development and maintenance of port and airport contributing to economic and social activities
  • Facilitation of technological innovation through informatization
• Electronic Navigation Research Institute (ENRI):
  • Improved air traffic safety and reliability
  • Enhancement of Air Traffic Management (ATM) and environmental impact reduction
  • Advanced airport operations
  • Fundamental technology development for ATM/Communications, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS)

MPAT will continue to strengthen its role as a core research institute by providing technological solutions to technical policy issues, such as development of standards and guidelines, and to the response to disasters and maritime accidents, and by conducting joint research with universities, private companies, and other National Research and Development Institutes, contract research, personnel exchanges, and will return the fruits of our research and development activities to the society. In addition, MPAT will continue to be actively involved in preparing proposals for international regulations/standards to international standards-related organizations and will promote strategic international activities by strengthening cooperation with other organizations.

Through these efforts, MPAT will strategically implement international activities such as promoting the global dissemination of Japanese technologies and systems, maximizing the fruits of research and development, and returning the results to society, thereby contributing to the realization of government policies, and creating a bright future through the development of advanced technologies related to maritime, port, and aviation.

SHOJI Ruri
President, National Institute of Maritime, Port and Aviation Technology