Only a few Japanese are truly active on the world stage, and one of them is Shiraishi Kojiro (36), a yachtsman and adventurer who has sailed the planet's oceans, winning glory and breaking many records.

"I first wanted to go around the world when I was a kid. I didn't care how I went — by boat, airplane, whatever. That's why, after junior high, I enrolled in a senior high school specializing in fisheries. I didn't have any second thoughts about it, because I knew the students at the school would be sailing to Hawaii as part of the practical training. It was around then that I knew for sure I wanted to sail around the world by yacht."

His senior high courses gave him boat-related knowledge and technical skills. After graduating, he apprenticed himself to a world-famous yachtsman, the late Tada Yukoh, and practiced sailing for a number of years. Then in 1993, at the age of 26, Shiraishi set a new record as the youngest sailor in the world to circumnavigate the globe non-stop and single-handed, without taking on any supplies along the way. He did it in 176 days.

This catapulted him into world fame. He went on to participate in many yacht and adventure races, and then entered Around Alone 2002/03, a solo, round-the-world yacht race held from September 2002 to May 2003. Competitors set out from New York, with stopovers in England, South Africa, New Zealand and Brazil before the final destination, Newport, Rhode Island — a grueling race of about 50,000 km. Shiraishi came in fastest in the Class II, 40-foot yacht category.

"People often ask me why I jump into an adventure where I could die at any time. I don't do it for the adventure. I do it because going around the world alone is a lot of fun. My goal is simply to circumnavigate the globe, to enjoy some of the things the planet has to offer. It's true I'm alone on the yacht, but I keep in touch with my staff and friends by e-mail so I don't feel alone. Actually, I don't feel I'm the only person on the yacht, because the boat is carrying the hopes and dreams of all kinds of people. Out there, I want to fulfill their hopes and live out their dreams.

"I'd like to train young people who dream of sailing the seas one day. There's a lot to learn from sailing a yacht, from nature — endurance, decisiveness, how to make split-second judgments, how to cooperate with others.... I want to give kids a chance to experience some of the things I have learned and done."