Ensign of the Japan Coast Guard

A vessel of the Japan Coast Guard - Hida powered with four MTU 20V1163TB93 diesel engines

A Eurocopter AS322 Super Puma of the Japanese coast guard flying over Tokyo Bay

The Japan Coast Guard (海上保安庁, Kaijō Hoan-chō^?), formerly the Maritime Safety Agency, is the Japanese coast guard. Comprising about 12,000 personnel, it is under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and is responsible for the protection the coast-lines of Japan. It was founded in 1948.

[edit] Overview

The duty of the JCG is to ensure security and safety at sea.This provided thru the following services:

• Maritime patrol - patrols Japan's territorial seas and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of (12-200 nautical miles out from the shore which is approximately 4,470,000 km2.^[1]
  • Countermeasures against Smuggling and Illegal Immigration
  • Countermeasures against Piracy See:[[Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy

and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia]] (ReCAAP)

• • Counter Terrorism
  • Security against Maritime Conflict - includes the Special Guard Team
  • Surveillance of Illegal Operations by Foreign Fishing Vessels
  • Countermeasures against Suspicious Vessels and/or Spy Ships
  • Dealing with Unlawful Acts by Foreign Oceanographic Research Vessels
  • Patrolling and Guarding the Waters near the Senkaku Islands, Takeshima, and the Northern Territories
• Search and rescue
• Hydrographic and oceanographic surveying
• Maritime traffic management

[edit] Organization

[edit] 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 Commandant Ishikawa Hiroki and 2 Vice Commanders. Lower ranking officers include the director general, directors and inspector generals.

Organization (as of April 1, 2009)

• Commandant
  • Vice Commandant
  • Vice Commandant for Operations
• Administrative Inspector General
• Administration Department
• Coast Guard Research Center
• Equipment and Technology Department
• Guard and Rescue Department
• Hydrographic and Oceanographic Department
• Maritime Traffic Department
• Coast Guard Academy (Kure)
• Coast Guard School (Maizuru)
• Moji Branch (Kitakyushu)
• Miyagi Branch (Iwanuma)

The Japan Coast Guard Academy is a university established within the Coast Guard for the purpose of training students to become officers. It is located in Kure, Hiroshima prefecture.

The JCG maintains two special forces units:

• the Special Security Team (SST) (特殊警備隊, Tokushu Keibi Tai^?) and
• the Special Rescue Team (SRT) (特殊救難隊, Tokushu Kyūnan Tai^?).

[edit] History

Founded in 1948 as the Maritime Safety Agency of Japan, its English name was changed to Japan Coast Guard in April 2000.^[2] In 1950, the Maritime Safety Agency sent minesweepers to the Korean Peninsula under the United Nations flag during the Korea War.

On December 22, 2001, JCG 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 JCG and an exchange of gunfire resulted. The unidentified vessel sank in the Chinese EEZ with all hands.^[3] The ship, later salvaged by the JCG, was found to be carrying weapons and spy equipment.^[4] The wreck and its contents were put on display at the Japanese Coast Guard Museum at Yokohama.^[5]

[edit] Operational regions

A map of the division of jurisdiction between the 11 JCG regions

Headquartered in Tokyo, 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.

• 1st Region: Otaru, Hokkaidō (including southern Kuril islands)
• 2nd Region: Shiogama, Miyagi
• 3rd Region: Yokohama
• 4th Region: Nagoya
• 5th Region: Kobe
• 6th Region: Hiroshima
• 7th Region: Kitakyūshū
• 8th Region: Maizuru, Kyoto
• 9th Region: Niigata, Niigata
• 10th Region: Kagoshima
• 11th Region: Naha, Okinawa(including Senkaku Islands)

[edit] Major equipment

[edit] Vessels

The JCG operates 455 watercraft, these include the following: Patrol Vessels 121 Patrol craft 234 Special guard and rescue craft 63 Hydrographic survey vessels 13 Aids to navigation evaluation vessels 1 Buoy tenders 2 Aids to navigation tenders 18 Training boats 3

[edit] Aircraft

The JCG operates 73 aicraft, these include:

• Fixed Wing 27
• Helicopters 46

[edit] See also

• Japan Coast Guard Academy
• Japan Coast Guard Museum
• Umizaru
• Umizaru 2: Test of Trust

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Japan Coast Guard

• JCG Academy Official Site (Japanese)
• Official Site (Japanese)
• Official site (English)