The motto of the Japan Coast Guard is "Righteous Benevolence" (正義仁愛, Seigi Jin'ai).
History
Coast guard operations were performed by the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Empire of Japan, but the ability of maintaining maritime security declined significantly following the surrender of Japan in August 1945 and the resulting dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Maritime trade and smuggling had increased dramatically, and even pirates had begun to appear. Consultations were undertaken between the Japanese government, which wanted to restore its public security capacity as soon as possible, and the Allied countries which wanted to maintain the disarmament of Japan. However, in 1946, an "Illegal Immigration Control Headquarters" was established in the Ministry of Transport after cholera was transmitted to Kyushu by smugglers from the Korean Peninsula. This resulted in an increase in severe infections.[3][4]
Meanwhile, the GHQ/SCAP also recognized the deficiencies of the Japanese maritime security system and in March 1946 Captain Frank M. Meals of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) was tasked to consider the situation. Captain Meals suggested the establishment of a comprehensive coast guard organization based on the USCG. In response to this, the Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) was established as an external agency of the Ministry of Transportation in 1948.[4] Its English name was changed to the Japan Coast Guard in April 2000.[5] In 1952 the Coastal Safety Agency was created with ships supplied by the United States and spun off in 1954 as the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force.
Minesweeping operations
Immediately after the end of World War II, a large number of aerial mines laid by the US military were left in the waters around Japan, and clearing them became an important mission of the MSA. For this mission, minesweepers of the former Imperial Japanese Navy were incorporated into the MSA and later were transferred to the Safety Security Force, a predecessor of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.[6]
In addition to activities in Japan's waters, in 1950, two flotillas of minesweepers were sent to the Korean Peninsula under the United Nations flag during the Korean War.[7]
Regional cooperation
In October 1999, Prime MinisterKeizō Obuchi presented a series of major maritime anti-piracy cooperation proposals to ASEAN members. These proposals included having the Japan Coast Guard patrol regional waters alongside ASEAN maritime forces so as to establish a "regional coast guard body," strengthening state support for shipping companies, and improving coordination of regional responses to maritime attacks. Representatives of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore expressed interest in the idea, although further discussions held by Obuchi's successor, Yoshirō Mori, did not yield warm responses, and Chinese representatives questioned the need for any regional anti-piracy cooperation. Nonetheless, these ideas finally materialized somewhat in 2001 when armed Japan Coast Guard ships ventured into foreign waters in order to provide Indian, Thai, and Filipino maritime forces with anti-piracy training. Nations which took part in these exercises for the first time included Brunei and Indonesia in 2002, as well as Singapore in 2003.[8]
Nonetheless, successive efforts by Japanese authorities to further promote a multilateral and regional maritime defense system have stalled due to disagreements and lack of commitment by regional powers, and Japanese players have tended to favour bilateral discussions instead.[8]
Establishment of 118 emergency number
In May 2000,[9] the Japan Coast Guard introduced a nationwide emergency number, 118, for reporting accidents at sea, oil spills, suspicious vessels, smuggling, and illegal immigration.[10] It can be dialed from mobile phones, landline phones, public phones, and marine radiotelephones in Japan.[10] In 2018, there were 5,028 calls to 118 regarding accidents or possible accidents at sea.[9]
On December 22, 2001, Japan Coast Guard ships intercepted a Chinese-flagged vessel, believed to be North Korean in origin, in the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone between Kyushu and China. When the vessel failed to respond, she was fired upon by the Japan Coast Guard ships and an exchange of gunfire resulted. The unidentified vessel sank in the Chinese Exclusive Economic Zone with all hands.[11] The ship, later salvaged by the Japan Coast Guard, was found to be carrying weapons and spy equipment.[12] The wreck and its contents were put on display at the Japan Coast Guard Museum at Yokohama.[13]
On January 2, 2024, a Japan Coast Guard DHC-8 'Mizunagi 1' providing relief support in response to the 2024 Noto earthquakecollided with a Japan Airlines Flight 516, an Airbus A350-900, resulting in the deaths of five Coast Guard aircrew and the severe injury of a sixth. The crash occurred at Tokyo's Haneda Airport.[14]
Missions
The mission of the Japan Coast Guard is to ensure security and safety at sea. It is responsible for performing the following tasks:
Although the Japan Coast Guard is legally a civilian organization as stipulated in Article 25 of the Coast Guard Law, it has seen increased quasi-military responsibilities and has wide latitude in its domestic and border security missions.[15][16] In emergency situations, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) can assist the Japan Coast Guard in conducting law enforcement activities as stipulated in Article 82 of the Self-Defense Forces Law (SDFL), and the Japan Coast Guard may be placed under the direction of the Minister of Defense as stipulated in Article 80 of the SDFL.[17] In such case, the Minister of Defense is able to give orders to the commandant of the Japan Coast Guard.[18] However, the Japan Coast Guard is not allowed to use force against foreign governments or naval vessels and the JMSDF is likewise constrained in its operations in support of the Japan Coast Guard. [17] In contrast, the China Coast Guard is allowed to use force against foreign governments or naval vessels, which are supposed to be protected by international law.[19]
With China stepping up its grey-zone activities to challenge Japan, taking advantage of the gap between the Japan Coast Guard and the JMSDF in particular,[17] some members of the Japanese Liberal Democratic Party have argued that the Japan Coast Guard should be more forceful in its opposition to China.[20][21]
Organization
National Headquarters
Main building of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism in Kasumigaseki, under which the Japan Coast Guard operates, and where it is headquartered
The Japan Coast Guard is led by a Commandant and two Vice Commandants. Lower ranking officers include the director general, directors and inspectors general.
The Japan Coast Guard Academy is a 4-year-training institution, located in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture, established within the Coast Guard for the purpose of training students to become officers. Graduates are given a bachelor's degree upon graduation. About 40 cadets graduate from the academy each year.
Operational units
Regional organization
A map of the division of jurisdiction between the 11 JCG regions
The JCG has divided the nation into eleven regions to facilitate its coast guard operations. Each region maintains a Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, under which there are various Coast Guard Offices, Coast Guard Stations, Air Stations, Hydrographic Observatory, and Traffic Advisory Service Centers.
PM Abe and Adm Sato review the JCG fleet in honor of their 70th anniversary in 2018
Immediately after its creation, the MSA operated the second-hand ships of the former Japanese Navy, but it was only allowed to use smaller and slower vessels.[23] The designations of PL, PM, PS and PC were used to classify ships as being: Patrol Ship – Large, Medium, Small and "Craft" = very small. From FY1949 the construction of new ships began. Because GHQ instructed the service to model its ships after those of the USCG, the 700-ton PL Daiou-class was based on Cactus-class buoy tenders, the 450-ton PM Awaji-class patrol vessel was based on Thetis-class patrol boats, the 270-ton PS Kuma-class patrol vessel was based on Active-class patrol boats, and the 23-meter PC Hatsunami-class patrol craft used a USCG 75-foot patrol boat as a model. However, these copies of American ship types were found wanting as they neither suited the actual operational work of the MSA nor the sea conditions around Japan.[24]
In the late 1970s, it was clear that the new international rules on national exclusive economic zones would demand a considerable increase in the size of the Maritime Safety Agency fleets. To cope with this dramatic increase in workload, the 1,000-ton PL Shiretoko-class patrol vessels, 500-ton PM Teshio-class patrol vessels and 30-meter PC Murakumo-class patrol craft were built in large quantities. In addition, the Japan MSA also began protecting shipping operations by deploying air-sea rescue helicopters on-board PLHs.[26]
Since the 1980s, criminal ships had advanced into Japan's ocean spaces and were showing high speeds, also North Koreanarmed trawlers (fushin-sen) began to appear. For this reason, the MSA designed and built the 180-ton PS Mihashi-class patrol vessels that combined both ocean-going capability and high-speed performance. In addition, upping the speed of PL and PM type patrol vessels became important and this has also been achieved. As a final measure, by equipping JCG ships with remote control turrets incorporating automatic tracking functions applied to the ship's machine cannon, precise shooting became possible.[27][28][29]
Due to Japan's increased focus on grey-zone challenges around the Senkaku Islands, JCG's facilities on Ishigaki Island have been expanded so that 12 large patrol vessels can be stationed there. Ten Kunigami-class and two Hateruma-class patrol vessels have been homeported at Ishigaki, along with housing for up to 600 crew, making Ishigaki JCG's largest base, surpassing JCG's facilities at Yokohama. Another half dozen ships including three Tsugaru-class are stationed 412 km (256 mi) north of Ishigaki at JCG's 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters at Naha.[30][31][32]
Statistics
The JCG operates 454 watercraft, these include the following:[28]
A "Onebox Car" using as a Patrol Car of Japan Coast Guard in Kagoshima.
The JCG does not have any emergency vehicles, but civilian vans are used for transporting goods and personnel, [34] while some minibuses such as the Nissan Civilian and Toyota Coaster with are used for transporting prisoners or illegal immigrants that were captured by the Coast Guard.
Armaments
Vessel-mounted weapons
Because the Allied countries wanted to maintain the disarmament of Japan, the weapons allowed to be carried by the MSA were restricted to only small arms in the earliest days. However, following the outbreak of the Korean War, the need to strengthen the security capability of Japan became necessary, and starting in 1954, the installation of larger guns on MSA ships began.[27]
Initially ships of the MSA were permitted to carry Mark 22 3"/50 caliber gun for large vessels (PL type), Bofors 40 mm L/60 guns for medium and small size ships (PM and PS type), and Oerlikon 20 mm L/70 guns were mounted on small patrol boats (ARB type and auxiliary submarine chasers). Actually, however, the number of 40 mm guns was insufficient, and many of the PS type had 20 mm guns installed instead.[27]
From the 1970s, substitution of these old guns began. The 3-inch guns were retired by 1979, as their age was progressing. Also from FY1978 an Oerlikon 35 mm L/90 gun was substituted on ships replacing the Bofors 40 mm L/60 gun, and from the FY1979 ships forward, the JM61-M 20 mmrotary cannons were installed on MSA ships in lieu of the earlier Oerlikon 20 mm guns.[27]
In the beginning, only a few of the 35 mm guns had a limited remote control function, most of these guns were manually controlled. Then, full-scale remote operation and automatic tracking function were included in the guns mounted on the PLH Shikishima introduced in 1989. In addition, the 20 mm gun systems were added to the standard equipment list as JM61-RFS, and they have been mounted on many patrol vessels. And in order to counter the heavily armed North Korean naval trawlers in the event of an engagement, most recently PLs have been equipped with a 40 mm L/70 gun or 30 mm chain gun remotely controlled with an optical director.[27]
Personal weapons
In the early days, MSA officers were issued WWII Nambu Type 14 semi-auto pistols and M1 rifles. From the 1960s, the old semi-auto Nambu pistols were replaced by newly built M60 revolvers. Some JCG security units have been equipped with modern Smith & Wesson Model 5906 TSW pistols.[27]
Liff, Adam P. (2020). "ch.12 China's Maritime Gray-Zone Operations in the East China Aea and Japan's Response". 中国の海洋強国戦略:グレーゾーン作戦と展開 [China's Maritime Gray Zone Operations]. Translated by Sugimoto, Masahiko. Hara-shobō. pp. 222–247. ISBN978-4562057450.
Maritime Safety Agency (1979). 30 years history of Japan Coast Guard. Maritime Safety Agency Foundation. ASINB000J8HCXQ.
Komine, Takao (2005). SST - the Japan Coast Guard Special Forces. Namiki Shobo. ISBN4-89063-193-3.
Matsuo, Toshinari (2021). 中国海警法の施行― 海警に付与された武器使用権限 [Enforcement of China's Coast Guard Law – Authority to Use Weapons Granted to China Coast Guard] (PDF) (Report). JMSDF Staff College.
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