Ocean Day

My calendar lists July 19 as "Ocean Day (Japan)". We've been discussing a lot whether "blue" is becoming the new "green" as water-conservation awareness grows, so I did some quick research on the holiday.

Ocean Day, or Marine Day, is a national holiday set for the third Monday in July; originally fixed on July 20, it was moved to create a three-day holiday weekend at the beginning of the summer beach season. Historically the holiday celebrates the return of Emperor Meiji from a boat trip to Hokkaido in 1876, but the modern holiday was founded in 1996 and focuses more on beach trips and "gratitude for the blessings of the oceans and to hope for the economic prosperity of maritime Japan" (Wikipedia entry, 7/6/2010).

This sounds like a great marketing opportunity, especially for companies with a presence in Japan and eastern Asia, to discuss your company's stance on water conservation and protecting the oceans. Have you started to put together your "blue" story yet?