Japan, U.S. coast guards to boost cooperation

A coast is usually about 200km around a country. Why are the us coast guard here?

Good perhaps the USA Coastguard can teach the Japanese Coastguard how to get with the program and do their job properly.

As you can tell iam completely disappointed in the japanese Coastguard abilities and responsibilities.

any "experts" here to explain all of this?

Unlike militaries, most coast guards and certainly the US Coast Guard are law enforcement agencies that can conduct legal searches, collect evidence make arrests. Even when US Navy ships are tasked with counter narcotics patrols they bring a Coast Guard law enforcement team who conducts any searches and makes the arrests. The US, Japan and many other nations are parties to a variety of international treaties regarding human trafficking, drug trafficking, smuggling, fishing (kinds of fish caught, when and where caught, methods allowed), pollution prevention, etc. . Illegal fishing in particular is a big problem in the Pacific and off the coasts of Africa. This past year a buoy tender making a transit from I think it was Guam or Hawaii to American Samoa caught and arrested some fishermen using illegal methods, much to their surprise because normally it is a white hulled High Endurance Cutter that make law enforcement patrols, not the black hulled "hard hat" Coast Guard that does the dirty and sometimes dangerous work of servicing and replacing navigation buoys. Now the cheaters have to watch out for those too. A Coast Guard can look for ships making illegal transfers of prohibited arms or commodities, such as Chinese ships offloading coal or oil to North Korean ships in violation of UN sanctions, or Venezuelan tankers transferring oil to another countries tanker in the dark of the night with their AIS turned off. Coast Guards try to coordinate their efforts on these law enforcement matters, share intelligence, lessons learned and train together to maximize their effects rather than each coast guard working independently of each other. Smugglers and illegal fishing do not stay close to the world's coasts so neither do coast guards.

As you can tell iam completely disappointed in the japanese Coastguard abilities and responsibilities.

You shouldn't be. Japan has an internationally well regarded coast guard (when did the name change from Japan Maritime Safety Agency) and Japan's commercial maritime fleet has among the best safety records of any nation.

And quite unknown to many here, the US Coast Guard used to have a base here in Okinawa until around the mid to late 90's. They ran a LORAN station here.

@Yubaru, there were LORAN stations all around the world. Some were extremely isolated, on tiny little islands that could barely hold a runway and a few buildings for the small staff there, plus the LORAN transmitter, generators and fuel storage. It was like living at a small municipal airport in the middle of a vast ocean and the weather wasn't always very nice.

Japan Coast Guard is genuinely a police organization annexed to the Ministry of Land and Transportation whereas US Coast Guard is not only a police organization but also a bona fide military service on a par with other four services: Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.

Does the cooperation between the two organizations, JCG and USCG, mean that JCG wants to assume more of the role of the Navy (or MSDF) just like USCG?

Internationally well regarded

Ive yet to see Japan be internationaly well regarded

Tour boat of the coast of Japan ring any bells ?

Having personally received formal training and numerous certifications in emergency response and defense iam thoroughly disappointed and not impressed with any emergency response or health and safety standards of the so called highly evolved nation of Japan

The USA coastguard on the otherhand is more than competent and extremely effective.

While most USCG activities concern law enforcement duties, the USCG is Military Branch, and the only one within the Dept of Homeland Security. Contrary to it's name, the USCG's activities are not limited to the "coast" of the continental US or other states and territories. USCG have participated in Operation Desret Storm as well as Iraq and Afghanistan.

https://www.businessinsider.com/coast-guard-taking-frontline-role-against-us-rivals-overseas-2021-5

one more question-are american shores next to Japan?I just had quick look at google maps but yes Hawaii or Guam seems a bit more faraway than 200km border from Japan?

Why should distance be a factor for mutual cooperation? All nations have "sister cities" all over the planet that they like to cooperate with for varying reasons and distance plays no part in it.

So why should they not cooperate? Do some people have a problem with the US coast guard and Japanese coast guard having a working relationship? Why would it matter to anyone? Quite amazing the questions on the minds of some.

For the history buffs, after the conclusion of WWII Japan's coast was hotbed of smuggling and piracy. The situation was out of control, compounded by a cholera epidemic traced to smugglers from Korea. After discussions with the Japanese government and the other Allies who did not want to see Japan re-armed, a US Coast Guard Captain was brought into the discussion to consider the options. His recommendation was to form an organization in Japan modeled after the US Coast Guard. This would become the Japan Maritime Safety Agency under the Ministry of Transportation, which apparently was renamed in 2010 to be the Japan Coast Guard. Any resemblance between the Japanese and US Coast Guards is deliberate.

While most USCG activities concern law enforcement duties, the USCG is Military Branch, and the only one within the Dept of Homeland Security. Contrary to it's name, the USCG's activities are not limited to the "coast" of the continental US or other states and territories. USCG have participated in Operation Desret Storm as well as Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Coast Guard is not an official branch of the US military and never have been. It was originally the Revenue Cutter Service under the Dept. of the Treasury tasked with stopping maritime smuggling. It was later merged with the Lighthouse Service and renamed the US Coast Guard. It has been a law enforcement organization from day one with laundry list of other missions added over the decades.

However US public law allows the Coast Guard to be placed under the command of the US Navy in times of declared war, or if Congress specifically authorizes the use of Coast Guard assets to support military operations. During WWII most of the US Army's landing craft used for amphibious operations at places like Anzio and Normandy for example had Coast Guard crews, and the big US Army transport ships (during WWII the US Army commanded more deadweight tonnage of shipping than the US Navy did) were operated for the most part by Coast Guard crews. Coast Guard cutters have been authorized by Congress to support the Navy in many US wars (though not all, sometimes Congress pushes back and refuses). Their ships are built with extra space and weight margin to allow more weapons to be added if necessary and any weapons Coast Guard ships do carry are paid for out of the Navy budget. They are organized pretty much like the Navy but do not report to them and are not considered an official branch of the US military.

Incidentally I did a tour on what is now the only survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack, USCGC Taney. She is now on display in Baltimore Harbor much as I remember her. I even found my old rack!

Japan Coast Guard is genuinely a police organization annexed to the Ministry of Land and Transportation whereas US Coast Guard is not only a police organization but also a bona fide military service on a par with other four services: Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force.

Japanese law as it stands now does not permit the Japan Coast Guard to fire on foreign government vessels. Only the JMSDF can do that, and there are those who will claim that even the JMSDF is not permitted to shoot unless they are shot at. Some are trying to legislate a change in this status so Japan Coast Guard ships can fire at Chinese Coast Guard ships that enter Japanese waters.

Desert Tortoise,

So how do you respond to the question I raised?

Does the cooperation between the two organizations, JCG and USCG, mean that JCG wants to assume more of the role of the Navy (or MSDF) just like USCG?