The Latest Breaking News from Japan Coast Guard

The Maritime Self-Defense Force and the Japan Coast Guard plan to conduct a joint drill simulating an armed attack on the Senkaku Islands for the first time, according to government sources.

The government plans to compile defense-related budget requests under a new comprehensive defense budget framework in a bid to strengthen defense capabilities, according to government sources.

The Japan Coast Guard and the Maritime Self-Defense Force have begun planning joint operation of an unmanned patrol aircraft as early as fiscal 2023 to enhance maritime surveillance, government sources have said.

The Japan Coast Guard confirmed Thursday that two China Coast Guard vessels intruded into Japanese territorial waters off the Senkaku Islands and stayed in the waters for 64 hours, the longest single intrusion since Japan nationalized the islands in 2012.

The Japan Coast Guard inspected the sightseeing boat that sank off the coast of Hokkaido last month, with the president of the company operating the vessel in attendance. The inspection took place on a salvage barge, which carried the vessel to port, and lasted 4-1/2 hours.

Work to lift the sunken Kazu I resumed off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido after the sightseeing boat fell deeper into the sea during salvage efforts earlier this week, the Japan Coast Guard announced Thursday.

A tourist boat that went missing six days ago off Hokkaido was found underwater on Friday, the Japan Coast Guard said, as 12 of the 26 people aboard remained unaccounted for.

Inquiries began into what caused the disappearance of a Japanese tour boat off the nation's northern coast as search efforts intensified on Monday to find the boat and its missing passengers, with the confirmed death toll rising to 11.

A tourist boat with 26 crew and passengers including two children went missing on Saturday while on a tour around the scenic Shiretoko Peninsula on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the Japan Coast Guard said.