Japan Coast Guard Disposition

(As at April 1, 2024)

One of the pair of Grumman Aerospace G-V Sea Watch aircraft operated by the
Japan Coast Guard (JCG) from its base at Tokyo International Airport (below)
in flight close to a well-known local landmark.
(Photos: [Top] JCG; [above] JCG via X [formerly Twitter] @JCG_koho) 

What was then the Maritime Safety Agency (MSA)—the service officially became the Japan Coast Guard on April 1, 2000, but the Japanese name (Kaijō Hoanchō) has remained unchanged—commenced operations as an extra-ministerial agency under the transport minister during the Allied Occupation of Japan on May 1, 1948, ‘to protect human lives and property at sea as well as to prevent and control any breaking of the law’.

2018 thus marked the 70th anniversary of the Japan Coast Guard (JCG), and a specially designed logo (above) was used throughout the year. According to the service’s website, the logo incorporated a ‘7’ that is linked around an image of the globe, centred on Japan, to signify protection and reflect the JCG’s place as a leader in maritime safety not only in Japan but throughout the world. Featuring an arrangement of Japanese plum blossoms that bloom even in harsh circumstances, the ‘0’ reflected the “spirit of justice and benevolence with which the service will push ahead for the next 70 years”.

(Map: Los688 via Wikimedia Commons)

Nowadays reporting to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo, the senior JCG officer bears the rank of commandant, beneath whom serve a vice commandant for operations and, within the Equipment and Technology Department, a director of the Aircraft Division. Dating back to January 1, 1962, the organization is divided into 11 numbered geographical regions, as shown in the map above, and comprises 15 air stations.

For the benefit of the spectators aboard the patrol vessel Izu, members of the JCG’s Special Rescue
Team (SRT) display their expertise from a 4th Region AW139. The demonstration formed part of
the 70th anniversary review of the fleet and comprehensive training drills held in
Tokyo Bay in May 2018. (Photo: Japan Coast Guard)

In February 2024, the Japan Coast Guard was operating 35 fixed-wing aircraft and 62 helicopters*, of six types each, making a total fleet of 97 aircraft. The most recent major type introduction was that of six Dassault Falcon 2000s, the first of which arrived in 2019. The next new aircraft type will be a Subaru 412EPX due for delivery in 2025.

This page ends with a listing of the helicopter-capable ships operated by the JCG.

(*) Includes two AW139s that arrived circa March 2023, only one of which was close to being commissioned in mid-January 2024, and two new S-76Ds that arrived for pre-service checks in September 2023.

Overwater patrols are the primary task of the JCG’s fleet of Bombardier Q300s (as the service
calls its Dash 8-Q300s). In the case of the 1st Region, such flights can entail operations over
particularly inhospitable waters for the purposes of fishery and environmental protection.
(Photo: 1st Region, Japan Coast Guard)

S-76D JA913A shows off the pristine condition of its underside paintwork. This aircraft
has been named Kumataka since its entry into service in March 2015. (See Note.)
(Photo: Koriel via X [formerly Twitter] @FEFE2F801F90FM2)

(Above) Occupying a corner of Kushiro Airport, JCG Kushiro Air Station followed Hiroshima and
Niigata in introducing a three-helicopter operation in March 2024 (see Bulletin Board story).
Part of the base’s equipment upgrade involved the decommissioning and replacement
of veteran S-76C JA6755 (below).
(Photos: Both via X [posted Dec. 2021] 海上保安庁@採用担当 @JCG_saiyou)

Taken from an entry in the JCG Foundation/Kaiho Shimbun blog (link), this October 2024 photo of the Kushiro hangar’s interior shows S-76Cs JA909A and JA6904 with (at the rear) S-76D JA910A.

Assigned Aircraft (10)

S-76D JA922B Sekirei (Wagtail), operated from Souya (PLH 01)
S-76D JA919A Haitaka (Sparrowhawk), operated from Tsugaru (PLH 02)

Q300     JA723A/724A/727B Aowashi (Blue Eagle) 1 to 3                   Shin-Chitose
AW139  JA980A Kumataka (Hodgson’s Hawk Eagle)*                        Hakodate
S-76C/D JA6904/909A/910A Shimafukurou (Blakiston’s Owl)            Kushiro
S-76D    JA913A Kumataka (Hodgson’s Hawk Eagle)                          Hakodate

* One of two AW139s imported by Mitsui Bussan circa March 2023, JA980A Kumataka (link) was being test flown mid-January 2024.

Sekitaka (Photo [Sendai, Mar. 2022]: 飛行機・鉄道大好きな人 via X @kimi_boku_anata)

One of the two AW139s based with the 2nd Region at Sendai airport, Miyagi Prefecture.
(Photo: 2nd Region/JCG)

Commissioned on February 22, 2021, the 2nd Region’s Beech 350 JA871B is a survey aircraft that
utilizes laser technology to measure the depths of shallow waters. (Photo: 2nd Region/JCG)

Assigned Aircraft (11)

S-76D    JA920A  Umineko (Black-tailed Gull), operated from Zao (PLH 05)

Based at Sendai:
Beech 350           JA861A/865A/866A Hakutaka (White Hawk) 1 to 3  
                            JA871B Aobazuku (Brown Hawk Owl)
AW139               JA965A/JA968A Umisuzume (Auk) 1 and 2
Bell 505              JA181A to JA184A Ooruri (Black-and-white Flycatcher) 1 to 4
                                                                   Miyagi Branch School, JCG Academy

(Photo: JCG via X [formerly Twitter] @JCG_koho)

EC225LP JA689A was used to transport the Special Rescue Team (SRT) members who gave a
demonstration during the marine festival held in Ito, Shizuoka Prefecture, October 2022.
(Photo: TA_KU via X [formerly Twitter] @ta_ku_nkn073)

Following the tragedy that took place at Haneda on January 2, 2024 (see Bulletin Board),
it remains to be seen if Bombardier Q300 JA725A will be joined by a replacement.
(Photo: Zuri_183 自遊人via X [formerly Twitter] @ Zuri_183)
 A scene inside the 3rd Region’s hangar at Tokyo International Airport at the time of J-HangarSpace’s
visit in November 2016 (link). Undergoing maintenance was the JCG’s fifth Airbus Helicopters
H225 Super Puma JA691A, which prior to the manufacturer’s change of name had been a
Eurocopter EC225LP at the time of its delivery in January the previous year.

Assigned Aircraft (7)

EC225LP   JA689A/JA690A Akitaka (Autumn Hawk)
                                                      operated from Akitsushima (PLH 32)

Based at Haneda:
Q300     JA725A Mizunagi (Shearwater) 2
G-V       JA500A/JA501A Umiwashi (Sea Eagle) 1 and 2
EC225LP   JA691A/JA692A Inuwashi (Golden Eagle) 1 and 2

The 38-strong Special Rescue Team (SRT) stands to attention in front of EC225LP JA692A at
Haneda in September 2023. The occasion was marking the milestone of the 3,000th member
to join the SRT’s ranks since its founding with just five men in October 1975.
(Photo: JCG via X [formerly Twitter] @JCG_koho)

Delivered in 2008 and the first of 18 AgustaWestland AW139 to have entered Japan Coast Guard
service, JA960A Kamitaka is currently operated by the 4th Region from Chubu Airport.
The flag in the cabin door window indicates that the regional commander is on board. 

Seen here on a visit to Kansai International Airport, Osaka, this Bell 412EP has been assigned to the
4th Region since March 2013. Its deployments on board the Mizuho commenced the following year.
(Photo [Sept. 2016]: Alec Wilson via Wikimedia Commons)

As the area around the 4th Region’s base includes the Ise Grand Shrine and the uninhabited
island named Kamishima at the entrance to Ise Bay, the name selected in September 2013
ahead of the arrival of its first AW139 combined kami (divine being) and taka (hawk).
This perpetuated the name given to the unit’s Bell 212s, which had been in service
 from 1991 to March 2013. (Photo: えぼはち via X [formerly Twitter] @evo_hachi)

Assigned Aircraft (4)

Bell 412EP JA906A/JA6756 Isetaka (Ise Hawk) 1 and 2,
                                                        operated from Mizuho (PLH 41)

AW139 JA960A/964A Kamitaka 1 and 2

(Photo: TINU via X [formerly Twitter] @TINU20522858)

A 5th Region Super Puma helicopter, one of a pair that the Special Security Team (SST), a unit
attached to the Osaka police that specializes in maritime counterterrorism, uses to train for
vertical insertion onto suspect vessels. (Photo: 5th Region/JCG)

One of the two specially modified, second-hand Saab 340B turboprops that were added to the JCG
fleet in February 2007, joining two acquired new in 1997. Both of the later arrivals fulfill the
search and rescue role from Kansai International Airport. (Photo: Japan Coast Guard) 

The image above is designed to draw attention to the YouTube video (whitewing681 channel)
of JA918A landing at Toyama Airport Dec. 2017 (link).

Assigned Aircraft (5)

S-76D    JA918A Shirasagi (White Heron), assigned to Settsu (PLH 07)

S340B   JA953A/JA954A Hayabusa (Peregrine Falcon) 3 and 4
EC225LP   JA687A/JA688A Mimizuku (Eagle Owl) 1 and 2

(Above and below) One of the 5th Region EC225LPs during diver training with the Tosa (PLH 08)
(Photos [posted Nov. 2023]: JCG via X [formerly Twitter] @JCG_koho)

The 6th Region’s sole S-76D during a post-maintenance test flight at Utsunomiya airfield.
(Photo [posted Oct. 2020]: Sawakazuair via X [formerly Twitter] @sawakazuair_139)

Assigned Aircraft (3)

S-76D   JA921B Setotaka (Seto [Inland Sea] Hawk)
AW139  JA962A/JA963A Setowashi (Seto [Inland Sea] Eagle) 1 and 2

The AW139 JA963A overflies Utsunomiya in February 2022. From 2009 to early 2014, both
of the now 6th Region AW139s were primarily based with the 10th Region at Kagoshima as
Manazuru (White-naped Crane) 1 and 2. (Photo: Senda Jet via X [formerly Twitter] @santa463)

Commissioned in December 2011 as the seventh of the JCG’s 18 AW139s and initially based on the
island of Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, JA966A has been resident with the 7th Region since
March 2013. The aircraft is named Hamachidori (Plover). (Photo: 7th Region/JCG)

(Above and below) The two 7th Region Bell 412EPs are named Hanamidori, an alternative
name for the uguisu (Japanese bush warbler), the official bird of Fukuoka Prefecture
where the aircraft are shore-based.
(Photos, via X [formerly Twitter]: [Top, Utsunomiya, Feb. 2022] 弾丸 @RJTU1901;
[above, Sept. 2022] なぎさ @KatanoNagisa)

One of the five Textron Aviation/Cessna Turbo Skyhawk JT-A training aircraft (JCG designation
Cessna 172S) that entered service in March 2018. These were originally based with the
1st Region at Sapporo. (Photo: 1st Region/JCG)

Assigned Aircraft (12)

Bell 412EP JA6795/JA908A Hanamidori 1 and 2, operated from Yashima (PLH 22), shore-based at Fukuoka

Based at Kitakyushu Airport:
Falcon 2000        JA575A to JA575A Wakataka (Young Hawk) 1 to 3
B350                   JA868A/JA870A Umikamome (Black-tailed Gull) 1 and 2
Cessna 172S        JA391A to 395A Amatsubame (White-rumped Swift) 1 to 5
AW139               JA966A/JA969A Hamachidori (Plover) 1 and 2

All three Kitakyushu-based Falcon 2000s lined up for a visitor tour late in 2022. The JCG’s 7th
Region had received 353 suggestions for a name in December 2019, and in a press release the
following month the winning name Young Hawk was said to have “captured the
manoeuvrability and highly functional features of the new aircraft”.
(Photo: スタバニア＠珈琲中毒 via X [formerly Twitter] @sutabania)

One of the two 7th Region Beech 350s, seen when undergoing maintenance during the same JCG
station tour, late 2022. (Photo: スタバニア＠珈琲中毒 via X [formerly Twitter] @sutabania)

(Photo [Nankishirahama Airport, Wakayama Prefecture, Apr. 2019]:
むいむい via X [formerly Twitter] @R1ffP1w1ax1b7BA)

Two 8th Region stablemates, a Bombardier Q300 and an AW139, formate for the camera’s
benefit on a flight from Miho. The unusual angle reveals that the Q300 carries the
Japanese for Japan Coast Guard on the inner side of  the engine nacelle.
(Photo [March 2014]: 8th Region/JCG)

Crew preparedness training naturally plays an important part of JCG operations. Here the S-76D
Maizuru, which has since its entry into service in early 2015 also served aboard the patrol ship
Daisen, is used to provide some land-based winch and rappelling practice.
(Photo [July 2015]: 8th Region/JCG)

Back on terra firma, the same AW139 receives some attention in the JCG Miho hangar.
(Photo [June 2016]: 8th Region/JCG) 

Assigned Aircraft (5)

S-76D                  JA914A Maizuru, operated from Daisen (PLH 10)

Based at Miho:
Q300                   JA726A/JA728A Mihotaka (“Miho Hawk”) 1 and 2
AW139               JA961A/JA973A Mihozuru (“Miho Crane”) 1 and 2

In service since April 2015, the 8th Region S-76D’s Maizuru name had been selected the previous
December. As a port city that is home to JMSDF and JCG bases, Maizuru actually takes its name
from the 16th century Tanabe Castle, which was known as Maizuru (Dancing Crane) Castle.
(Photo [Utsunomiya, Feb. 2022]: 飛行機・鉄道大好きな人 via
X [formerly Twitter] @kimi_boku_anata)

The sole S-76D assigned to the 9th Region is operated from the patrol vessel Echigo.
(Photo: Japan Coast Guard)

The 9th Region’s three AW139s provide search and rescue cover along and off the
coasts of three prefectures: Niigata, Toyama and Ishikawa.
 (Photo: [Dec. 2021]: ちぃすけ via X [formerly Twitter] @monomoke2020)

Assigned Aircraft (6)

S-76D    JA916A Misago (Osprey), operated from Echigo (PLH 08)

Based at Niigata:
B350     JA863A/864A Toki (Crested Ibis) 1 and 2
AW139 JA967A, 970A and 978A Raichou (Snow Grouse) 1 to 3

One of the pair of Niigata-based Beech 350s on climb out from its home airport.
(Photo [July 2019]: KJ via X [formerly Twitter] @JA10GR_JA01GP)

(Photo [Niigata, Jan. 2023]: Taka via X [formerly Twitter] @Takasan_139)

(Photo: Japan Coast Guard) 

Cruising above the clouds during its time with the 3rd Region, the Saab 340B-SAR shown above—currently operated by the 10th Region from Kagoshima—provides a good example for an explanation of the markings. The JCG website explains that the logo of a tipped over “S”, which appears on the side of all the organization’s ships and aircraft, denotes “speed, smart and service” in its safety, search and rescue, and survey missions. Italics were chosen for the fuselage titling to express “stability, dynamism and smartness” as well as to convey the JCG’s “dashing and active role in the international community”. The stylized compass rose that appears on the JCG’s flag is also worn on the tails of its aircraft to symbolize the service’s efforts toward maritime safety.

Like the Japanese Police, the JCG regards the aircraft paint scheme more as a uniform and thus its aircraft carry no individual markings other than the names given by bases to a specific type of aircraft. One exception, visible to the left of the Saab 340’s forward fuselage door and shown above, is the harp seal cartoon character Umimaru, which has been carried on aircraft from time to time since its adoption for the JCG’s 50th anniversary in 1998.

Sharing the name of a local protected species of bird, the Rurikakesu (Lidth’s or Amami Jay),
the 10th Region’s sole S-76D hovers along the runway at Kagoshima Airport. The aircraft is
normally assigned to the Oosumi. (Photo [Mar. 2015]: 10th Region/JCG)

Derived from two birds of prey—hayabusa (peregrine falcon) and taka (hawk)—the Hayataka
nickname bestowed on the pristine 10th Region Super Puma JA695A has added significance
in that the Hayato (falcon people) were the tribes who in ancient times lived locally
in what is now southern Kyushu. (Photo: 10th Region/JCG)

(Above and below) Two views of grimy Nabezuru at Kansai International Airport, February 2020.
(Photos: むいむい via X [formerly Twitter] @R1ffP1w1ax1b7BA)

One of the 10th Region’s two veteran AS332L-1s assists in disaster relief operations
at JASDF Wajima Sub-Base, Ishikawa Prefecture, in the aftermath of the Noto
Peninsula Earthquake. (Photo [Jan. 5, 2024]: 10th Division/JGSDF)

A major development in the 10th Region was the opening of the Nanatsujima Operations Support Center, the first of its kind. See the November 2024 Bulletin Board story.

Assigned Aircraft (14)

S-76D    JA912A Rurikakesu (Lidth’s or Amami Jay), operated from Oosumi (PL 202)
AS332L-1           JA6805/JA6806 Umitaka (“Seahawk”),
                                                           operated from Shikishima (PLH 31)
EC225LP            JA693A/JA694A Nabezuru (Hooded Crane),
                                                           operated from Shunkou (PLH 42)
                            JA695A Hayataka operated from Reimei (PLH 33)
                            JA696A Aowashi (“Blue Eagle”), Akatsuki (PLH 34)
H225                   JA698A/JA699A Ootaka (Northern Goshawk), Asanagi (PLH 43)
                            JA700A and JA? Yumiwashi (Yumi[hari] Eagle),
                                                           to be assigned to Yumihari (PLH 44)

Based at Kagoshima:
S340B   JA8951A /8952A Umitsubame (Storm Petrel) 1 and 2
AW139 JA976A/977A Manazuru (White-necked Crane) 1 and 2

(Above) One of the 10th Region “White-necked Cranes” in flight and (below) at rest on the helipad 
near the automated lighthouse on the abandoned island of Gajajima, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Not surprisingly, the JCG bears the responsibility for maintaining the country’s more than
3,000 lighthouses and operates a fleet of vessels specifically in support of the task. In this
case, an emergency repair team was airlifted by helicopter due to adverse sea conditions.
(Photos via X [formerly Twitter]: [Top, July 2021] はちみつ @f4ejk);
[above, Feb. 2022] JCG @JCG_koho)

(Photo: Yonemori Hospital ER, Kagoshima Prefecture, via Facebook)

(Photo [Jan. 2022]: Official髭曇dism via X [formerly Twitter] @foggy_JA8369)

(Photo [May 2019]: かねやん via X [formerly Twitter] @AURIS_414)

(Photo: JCG via X [formerly Twitter] @JCG_koho)

When both Naha-based Q300s were in residence, December 2023.
(Photos: CASTLE41 via X [formerly Twitter] @NRT0324)

Assigned Aircraft (Total: 15)

Shipborne (4):
S-76D    JA911B Shimawashi (“Island Eagle”), operated from Uruma (PLH 04)
               JA915A Okisashiba (Buzzard), Ryuukyuu (PLH 09)
               JA917A Okiajisashi (Great Tern), Okinawa (PLH 06)
EC225LP JA697A Chiyurawashi (Beautiful Eagle), Asazuki (PLH 35)

(Photo: JCG via X [formerly Twitter] @JCG_koho)

JA697A against a sun-dappled Kobe Bay, November 2021 
(Photo: なぎさ via X [formerly Twitter] @KatanoNagisa)

JA917A about to depart Sendai, July 2023.
(Photo: 飛行機・鉄道大好きな人 via X [formerly Twitter] @kimi_boku_anata)

Based at Naha (7):
Falcon 2000        JA572A to JA574A Chiyurataka (Beautiful Hawk) 1 to 3
Q300                   JA720A/721A Shimataka (“Island Hawk”) 1 and 2
AW139               JA974A/975A Okitaka (“Oki[nawa] Hawk”) 1 and 2

Both of the Naha-based AW139s have been in service there since first commissioned in March 2008.
(Photo [Sept. 2014]: 11th Region/JCG)

Based on Ishigaki (4):
B350     JA862A/867A Kinbato (Common Emerald Dove) 1 and 2
AW139 JA971A/972A Kenmuriwashi (Crested Eagle) 1 and 2

One of the two Beech 350s that, alongside two AW139s, constitute the 11th Region’s aviation
presence on the island of Ishigaki, 410 km (260 miles) from Naha. An aviation element was 
relocated to the new Ishigaki Airport in March 2013. (Photo: 11th Region/JCG)

(1) Branch schools at Moji, Fukuoka Prefecture and Iwanuma, Miyagi Prefecture

(Photo: 8th Region/JCG)

Helicopter-Capable Ships of the Japan Coast Guard

(Above) Tokyo Bay, off Tokyo International Airport, May 20, 2018. JCG vessels in line astern pass
by dignitaries, including PM Shinzō Abe (furthest from camera), standing in the place of honour
on the Yashima (PLH 22). This was the second day of the 56th review of the fleet, in which
37 ships and 15 aircraft participated to mark the JCG’s 70th anniversary.
(Below) The stern and helicopter hangar of the Yashima can be seen on the port side, while the
Tosa (PL 08) is in the van of the convoy on the starboard side. Formerly an annual event
held in May, the  fleet review has had to be cancelled on occasion before, most recently
following the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011. Its suspension for the previous six
years, however, had been entirely due to the service’s heightened level of operations in
the seas around Okinawa and the uninhabited, disputed Senkaku Islands (Pinnacle
Islands, Diaoyu to the Chinese). Only the importance of the occasion had dictated
that the fleet review be reinstated on the 2018 event calendar.
(Photos: Japan Coast Guard)

(1) Patrol Vessels Large with Helicopter (PLH)

Commissioned in April 1992 and transferred from Yokohama to Kagoshima early in 2018, the 
Shikishima can accommodate two Super Puma helicopters. A sister vessel, the Akitsushima,
joined the fleet in November 2013. Shikishima shares her name with an Imperial Japanese
Navy battleship that saw combat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905).
(Photo: 3rd Region/JCG)

A visiting HH-65 Dolphin from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter sits on the helicopter deck of the old
Mizuho in Nagoya in October 2007. At that time, Japan was hosting a meeting of a six-nation
coast guard forum developed to combat illegal fishing and increase international maritime
safety and security in the Northern Pacific Ocean. (Photo: U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area)

 

 

Seen here making her way through light ice, the Sōya was built against the background of the
Japanese government’s March 1977 decisions to extend the nation’s territorial waters from
three to 12 nautical miles and impose a 200-nautical mile fishing limit. The name of the
cape that forms the northernmost point of mainland Japan in Hokkaido, Sōya has
been a ship’s name since the early 1900s. In this case, the ship continued the
name of Japan’s first Antarctic research vessel, which was decommissioned
in 1978. (Photo: Japan Coast Guard)

The Sōya having served essentially as a prototype, Japan built a series of modified, so-called blue
water vessels in her image to police its extended territorial waters. As is the case with its
helicopters, JCG ships are usually given a new name when transferred to a different
operating region, and the Uruma shown here has twice been relocated.
(Photo: 11th Region/JCG)

(Above) Commissioned in September 1983 as the fifth of the nine Tsugaru-class patrol vessels,
the Chikuzen rests at her then home port of Hakata (Fukuoka) in February 2011. 
(Photo: tsuna72 via Wikimedia Commons)
(Below) The Chikuzen as she appears today, this time in daylight hours, as the Okinawa.
(Photo: 11th Region, Japan Coast Guard)

A glimpse inside the hangar of the Settsu, during a JCG open day at Kobe port in July 2017.
(Photo: Hunini via Wikimedia Commons)

(2) Patrol Vessels Large (PL) / Deck space only (no hangar)

 

A normallly Fukuoka-based AW139 lands on the deck of the Tosa during the JCG’s 70th anniversary
fleet review and training drills, which were held in Tokyo Bay over two days in May 2018.
(Photo: Japan Coast Guard)

The majority of the 18-vessel Kunigami-class fleet, like the Ikema (above) and the Yonakuni (below),
is based in the Okinawa area, where its primary mission is security around the Senkaku Islands. In 
September 2010, in the course of fishery protection duties in the area, Yonakuni was involved in 
a collision with a Chinese trawler, which in Japan became known as the Minjinyu 5719 Incident.
 (Photos: 11th Region/JCG)
                                                         

                                                                                                          

As a result of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995, the Izu patrol boat was designed to
serve as a disaster response command post with the added capability of being able to
transport large quantities of relief supplies to the afflicted areas.
(Photo [Yokohama, Apr. 2009]: Toshinbori Baba via Wikimedia Commons)

The design of these three vessels was in response to incursions by high-speed spy boats from North
Korea in the late 1990s/early 2000s. Hida is the name of the northernmost mountain range
in the Japanese Alps. (Photo: Japan Coast Guard)

Likewise extensively utilized around the Senkaku Islands, Hateruma-class vessels like the Ishigaki
are capable of a top speed in excess of 30 knots. (Photo: 11th Region/JCG)

The Kojima at its berth at Kure port. Providing prospective JCG officers with seagoing experience,
the Kojima regularly conducts extended deployments as part of the JCG Academy’s curriculum.
In June 2017, for example, she made a U.S. port visit to Baltimore, Maryland.
(Photo via wikimapia) 

Four ships head back to the Port of Yokohama after rehearsing for the May 2005 edition of the
JCG fleet review and comprehensive drill. From the lead ship, the four are the Izu (PL 31),
Yashima (PLH 22), Settsu (PLH 07) and Tsugaru (PLH 02).
(Photo: U.S. Coast Guard/PA1 Amy Thomas)