Abstract
The intensifying security competition in East Asia, characterized by persistent territorial disputes and the potential for major regional contingencies, has placed the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) at a strategic crossroads. The 2023 Control Guideline, which outlines the JCG’s role during armed attacks, has further heightened interest in the agency’s legal status. This article examines the critical gap between Japan’s domestic legal framework and the international law of naval warfare, specifically addressing how the potential classification of JCG assets as military objectives undermines the safety of maritime civil defense operations.
While the Japanese government firmly maintains the JCG’s status as a non-military, civilian organization under Article 25 of the JCG Act, this de jure identity faces significant challenges during armed conflict. Under the functionalist standards of international law, an adversary may reclassify JCG assets as legitimate military objectives based on their physical nature, dual-use capabilities, and operational proximity to combat zones, prioritizing functional reality over Japan’s domestic legal formalism. To mitigate this risk, the article concludes that Japan must move beyond unilateral domestic declarations and proactively seek international recognition of the JCG’s humanitarian mandate through negotiated “safe conduct” agreements and multi-layered identification protocols.
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