The shipbuilding, maritime, and ocean industries are undergoing profound transformation driven by decarbonization, geopolitical risks, supply chain restructuring, digitalization, and the expanding utilization of the oceans. What is required today is not merely technological advancement, but the redesign of industrial structures themselves and the envisioning of the next generation of maritime and ocean society.
Despite being one of the world’s leading maritime nations, Japan’s maritime industries, including shipbuilding, face numerous challenges such as intensifying global competition and workforce shortages. At the same time, new frontiers are rapidly emerging in areas such as ocean energy, ocean observation, next-generation vessels, autonomous navigation, and maritime digital transformation.
The Shipbuilding & Ocean Renaissance International Center (SORIC), established within the Institute of Multidisciplinary Sciences at Yokohama National University, was founded in response to these changing times and the two major national challenges of “revitalizing the shipbuilding industry” and “advancing ocean development.” At SORIC, we integrate diverse and cutting-edge knowledge across fields including naval architecture and ocean engineering, AI, robotics, cybersecurity, energy systems, international policy, and management, in order to drive structural transformation and create new value in the maritime and ocean industries.
SORIC is not merely a research center. Based in Kanagawa and Yokohama — a maritime hub where industry, ports, government, and research institutions converge — we work closely with universities, research institutions, companies, and government organizations around the world to envision the future of maritime and ocean industries and to pursue activities extending all the way to real-world implementation.
We believe that the maritime and ocean sectors are not simply industries, but foundational systems that support the sustainability and security of human society. SORIC aspires to become a nexus of knowledge that shapes the next generation of maritime and ocean society while creating and disseminating new value to the world. Achieving this vision requires diverse knowledge and people to come together across disciplines and positions, engaging freely in discussion, challenge, and the shared exploration of the future. Through the ocean as our stage, we hope to foster SORIC as a place where diverse knowledge intersects to envision new maritime and ocean societies.
