Deposit of the Instrument of Accession to the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention

October 2, 2007

On October 2 (Tue), the Government of Japan deposited the instrument of accession to the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention with the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London.
To further strengthen prevention measures against marine pollution through the London Convention, the Protocol in principle prohibits dumping of wastes and other matter from vessels and permits it only under strict conditions, even in exceptional cases where dumping has been permitted.
The Protocol was adopted in 1996 to replace the London Convention adopted in 1972, and entered into force on March 24, 2006. As of September 1, 31 countries are Parties to the Protocol. For Japan, the Protocol will enter into force on November 1 (Thu).
The accession to the Protocol was approved by the Japanese Diet on June 15 this year, and the cabinet decision to deposit the instrument of accession was made on October 2.

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