Toward Genuine South Pacific Islands Study : Trend and Challenge in Japan

First, this paper overlooks the trend of South Pacific Island Studies in Japan briefly by introducing the associations or institutions which specialize in the area. It shows that the anthropology is more popular, and the interests in the area are less than those in other areas such as Southeast Asian Countries. It concludes that it is necessary to study the area from the view points of sustainable development, which is characterized by environmental preservation and coexistence of different identities