Japanese Coast Guard Security Management Functions And Territorial Waters Guard Research

The Japanese coast guard was established in1948and after having undergonemultiple reforms and integration has developed into one of the world’s leading maritimeforces.As a maritime law enforcement agency the Japanese coast guard hasresponsibilities in multiple areas, including: maritime security management, maritimetraffic management, search and rescue, environmental protection, maritime disasterprevention etc. and the scope of the coast guard’s responsibilities is ever increasing.However, their main task is still to preserve security and stability in the region in theform of “Maritime Security Management.”Currently, due to the fact that Japan has yet to reach agreements with South Korea,China, and Russia on the delineation of maritime borders within surrounding waters, thesituation has devolved into instability and has served to further compound the problemof maintaining law and order. All parties in the region are currently attempting to reachbi-lateral or multilateral agreements on the co-management of fisheries within saiddisputed areas. Being on the front lines of enforcement in its role as “territorial watersguard” has caused the Japanese coast guard to face many new problems.This article will begin with relevant international law, international agreements,and Japanese domestic law as a means of introducing and emphasizing the historicaldevelopment and evolution of the functions of the Japanese Coast Guard, centering onits role in security management. Furthermore, this article will examine and analyze theevolution of responsibilities of the “territorial waters guard” and its’ law enforcementactivities within the disputed regions while simultaneously making suggestions for theresolution of this conflict. This article is solely the personal opinion of the author anddoes not reflect or represent the views of any organization.