The Japan Coast Guard
(*1) made both waves and headlines in 2001 when its patrol boats
exchanged fire with a North Korean spy ship, a duel that eventually
ended with the sinking of the rogue vessel. The incident shed
light on the Japan Coast Guard, an affiliate of the Ministry
of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
In a word, the duty of the coast guard is to maintain the safety
of Japanese waters including 200-nautical mile (370km) exclusive
economic zones (EEZ). This involves a wide variety of activities
pertaining to natural disasters, oil spills, illegal dumping,
stowaways and drug trafficking, as well as lighthouse maintenance,
ship salvaging and compiling tide tables. Japan set up EEZ in
1996, following the ratification of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea.
One of the tasks that have gained importance lately is patrol
of the nation's territorial waters. Coast guard vessels are
constantly on the lookout for suspicious vessels suspected of
involvement in illegal activities such as drug or weapons smuggling,
human trafficking, or fish poaching. If a vessel is acting suspiciously,
the coast guard can order it to halt for an inspection, which
entails coast guard officials boarding the ship and checking
for contraband or stowaways. Coast guard officials, who are
often referred to as the policemen of the sea, are authorized
to make arrests but until recently have not been permitted to
use firearms except in self-defense.
As crimes on the high seas continue to increase, the coast guard
has been expanding its fleet, making it one of the largest in
the world, matching its US counterpart. As of April 2003, the
agency had a total of 519 patrol vessels including special guard
and rescue boats, and 75 airplanes.(*2) The coast guard has
a special force unit trained in anti-terrorism and weapons use.
The law governing the coast guard was revised in November 2001
to give it more power, including permission for patrol boats
to fire on suspicious vessels in Japanese waters to prevent
them from escaping.
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