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[Breaking News]New Japan Coast Guard patrol boat Soya

KUSHIRO, Japan, Dec. 29 Kyodo - The Japan Coast Guard's new patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, arrives at Kushiro port in Kushiro in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Dec. 28, 2025. The 4,200-ton vessel replaced the JCG's oldest patrol vessel with the same name, which was decommissioned in November after traveling about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, during 47 years of operation. (Kyodo)

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New Japan Coast Guard patrol boat Soya

The Japan Coast Guard's new patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, arrives at Kushiro port in Kushiro in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Dec. 28, 2025. The 4,200-ton vessel replaced the JCG's oldest patrol vessel with the same name, which was decommissioned in November after traveling about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, during 47 years of operation.

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New Japan Coast Guard patrol boat Soya

The Japan Coast Guard's new patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, arrives at Kushiro port in Kushiro in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Dec. 28, 2025. The 4,200-ton vessel replaced the JCG's oldest patrol vessel with the same name, which was decommissioned in November after traveling about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, during 47 years of operation.

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JCG's oldest patrol boat retires

A ceremony to decommission the Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, is held in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 12, 2025, after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship traveled about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, and rescued over 1,450 people in more than 600 shipwreck cases.

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JCG's oldest patrol boat retires

A ceremony to decommission the Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, is held in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 12, 2025, after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship traveled about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, and rescued over 1,450 people in more than 600 shipwreck cases.

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JCG's oldest patrol boat retires

The icebreaker Soya's logo is painted over as a ceremony to decommission the ship, the Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, is held in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 12, 2025, after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship traveled about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, and rescued over 1,450 people in more than 600 shipwreck cases.

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JCG's oldest patrol boat retires

A ceremony to decommission the Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, is held in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 12, 2025, after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship traveled about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, and rescued over 1,450 people in more than 600 shipwreck cases.

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JCG's oldest patrol boat retires

A ceremony to decommission the Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, is held in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 12, 2025, after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship traveled about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth, and rescued over 1,450 people in more than 600 shipwreck cases.

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JCG's oldest patrol boat departs for final voyage

The Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, departs from its home port of Kushiro in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Nov. 4, 2025, for its final voyage after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship will be decommissioned on Nov. 12 after traveling about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth

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JCG's oldest patrol boat departs for final voyage

The Japan Coast Guard's oldest active patrol vessel, the icebreaker Soya, departs from its home port of Kushiro in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Nov. 4, 2025, for its final voyage after 47 years in operation. The 3,100-ton ship will be decommissioned on Nov. 12 after traveling about 1.91 million kilometers, equivalent to 48 trips around the Earth.

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[Breaking News]JAL pilots did not see coast guard plane when touching down

TOKYO, Japan Kyodo -The pilots of the Japan Airlines jetliner that collided with a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda airport told an internal probe that they could not visually confirm the presence of the JCG plane when touching down, according to the company.(Kyodo)

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JCG plane collision at Haneda airport

Workers remove the burnt wreckage of a Japan Coast Guard aircraft at Tokyo's Haneda airport on Jan. 5, 2024, after it caught fire following a collision with a Japan Airlines plane on a runway on Jan. 2.

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JCG Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii trooping the line

COURTESY CALL. Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan (left), Philippine Coast Guard Commandant, and Japanese counterpart Admiral Shohei Ishii (in white) troop the line at the PCG national headquarters in Port Area, Manila on Saturday (Nov. 4, 2023). Gavan recognized Japan as one of PCG's most generous and steadfast partners, specifically in upgrading its capabilities and achieving modernization. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

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JCG Commandant Admiral Shohei Ishii give token

CHIEFS. Admiral Ronnie Gil Gavan (right), Philippine Coast Guard Commandant, receives a token from Japanese counterpart Admiral Shohei Ishii at the PCG national headquarters in Port Area, Manila on Saturday (Nov. 4, 2023). Along with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, they later toured the BRP Teresa Magbanua (MRRV-9701), one of two 97-meter multi-role response vessels of the PCG constructed in Japan. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.)

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Rescued drifters questioned on JCG ship

SAKAIMINATO, Japan - Photo taken on the morning of Jan. 7, 2012, shows the Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel Daisen anchored off Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture. Three North Korean men in a wooden boat found adrift off Japan's Okinoshima Island the previous day have been questioned aboard the ship.

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JCG on alert against suspected red coral poachers

TOKYO, Japan - A Japan Coast Guard patrol vessel (front) keeps pace with a foreign fishing boat, suspected to have come from China to poach red corals, in the waters around the Ogasawara Islands, on Nov. 7, 2014.

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JCG boat patrols near drilling site in Okinawa

NAGO, Japan - A Japan Coast Guard boat patrols near the site of survey drilling in waters off the coast of Nago in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, on Aug. 22, 2014, for the planned relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma airbase.

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JCG vessel around Uotsuri Island

ISHIGAKI, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Japan Coast Guard ship patrolling around Uotsuri Island, one of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, on June 17, 2011.

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JCG vessel around Uotsuri Island

ISHIGAKI, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows a Japan Coast Guard ship patrolling around Uotsuri Island, one of the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, on June 17, 2011.

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Bombardier delivers 8 DHC8-Q300 prop planes to Japan Coast Guard

YAMATO, Japan - Japan Coast Guard officials cut the tape in front of a Canadian Bombardier DHC8-Q300 prop plane during a ceremony at the JCG hanger in the city of Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Feb. 13. A total of eight DHC8-Q300 prop planes, which will replace the outmoded YS11 propeller planes, were delivered to the Japan Coat Guard.

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Human jawbone found on N. Korean spy ship on display

TOKYO, Japan - An object that appears to be part of a lower human jawbone was found on the salvaged North Korean spy ship on display at a Tokyo museum and may have belonged to one of the crewmembers, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said on Dec. 17. The item was found by a staff member who was doing anticorrosion work on the ship that sank just about two years ago in the East China Sea off Japan after a shoot-out with JCG patrol vessels.

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(1)N. Korean spy ship shown to public at Kagoshima dock

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - One of 3,000 select visitors looks at a salvaged North Korean spy ship involved in a shoot-out with Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol boats in 2001 as it went on public display at a Kagoshima City dock on May 17. Apart from the ship itself, the coast guard also showed a small boat, a water scooter and some weapons recovered from the ship.

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JCG recovers 2 bodies in wreck of small plane

KYOTO, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) salvaged a small private plane that crashed in the sea May 4 off Amino, Kyoto Prefecture, recovering the bodies of two men May 10. The plane with the two on board crashed shortly after takeoff for acrobatic flight training from Tajima Airport in neighboring Hyogo Prefecture.

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Retired icebreaker Fuji eyed as coast guard emergency base

NAGOYA, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) plans to borrow the retired icebreaker Fuji (shown in photo) to use it for the JCG headquarters in case of a major earthquake in the region. The icebreaker was formerly used in Japanese Antarctic expeditions and is now anchored at Nagoya port as a museum.

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(4)Freighter stranded on Izu-Oshima still burning

OSHIMA, Japan - Firefighters of Izu-Oshima Island stand on guard as a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) boat fights the fire continuing to burn aboard the Bahamas-registered car carrier 56,835-ton Hual Europe on Nov. 26.

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(3)Freighter stranded on Izu-Oshima still burning

OSHIMA, Japan - A Japan Coast Guard (JCG) boat fights the fire that continues to burn aboard the 56,835-ton Hual Europe, a Bahamas-registered car carrier loaded with 3,885 motor vehicles, on Izu-Oshima Island, south of Tokyo, on Nov. 26. JCG boats have been unable to get closer to the ship because it lies in shallow waters near the shore.

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(3)Coast guard prepares for probe of unidentified ship

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - Tadashi Kuroki, chief of the patrol and rescue department of the Japan Coast Guard, briefs the media at the JCG regional headquarters in Kagoshima on a probe of a suspected North Korean spy ship that began on the East China Sea on May 1.

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Coast guard crew cited for service in mystery ship incident

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - Masao Kurusu, captain of a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol boat, the Amami, receives a JCG award March 11 at Kagoshima port for meritorious service in chasing a suspected North Korean ship off the island of Amami-Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture last December. He was one of the crew members from four patrol boats awarded the JCG's highest citations for the service.

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(3) 3 bodies found from suspected sunken spy ship

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - A body recovered from a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea was unloaded from a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) helicopter in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, on Dec. 23. The JCG found bodies of three out of about 15 crew members of the ship that sank after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats Dec. 22.

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Japan Coast Guard holds weekend drills in Tokyo Bay

TOKYO, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) kicks off its annual sea review and drill in Tokyo Bay on May 26, with Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Chikage Ogi (C, waving) as the first-ever female chief reviewer, and about 3,500 public spectators in attendance. Taking part in the two-day Sea Review and Comprehensive Drill are 78 vessels from related domestic and foreign agencies, as well as 18 aircraft, including helicopters.

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Japan Coast Guard drone unveiled to media

The Japan Coast Guard unveils its unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9B SeaGuardian to the media at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 17, 2022. The JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone on Oct. 19.

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Japan Coast Guard drone unveiled to media

The interior of the operation center for the Japan Coast Guard's unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9B SeaGuardian is unveiled to the media at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 17, 2022. The JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone on Oct. 19.

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Japan Coast Guard drone unveiled to media

The Japan Coast Guard unveils its unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9B SeaGuardian to the media at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 17, 2022. The JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone on Oct. 19.

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Japan Coast Guard drone unveiled to media

The Japan Coast Guard unveils its unmanned aerial vehicle MQ-9B SeaGuardian to the media at the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 17, 2022. The JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone on Oct. 19.

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Japan Coast Guard drone begins operation

The Japan Coast Guard's unmanned aerial vehicle the MQ-9B SeaGuardian is pictured after taking off from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Oct. 19, 2022, as the JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone for the first time.

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Japan Coast Guard drone begins operation

The Japan Coast Guard's unmanned aerial vehicle the MQ-9B SeaGuardian is set to take off from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Oct. 19, 2022, as the JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone for the first time.

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Japan Coast Guard drone begins operation

The Japan Coast Guard's unmanned aerial vehicle the MQ-9B SeaGuardian is pictured after taking off from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Oct. 19, 2022, as the JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone for the first time.

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Japan Coast Guard drone begins operation

The Japan Coast Guard's unmanned aerial vehicle the MQ-9B SeaGuardian is set to take off from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's Hachinohe air base in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Oct. 19, 2022, as the JCG started operating the U.S.-made maritime surveillance drone for the first time.

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(3) 3 bodies found from suspected sunken spy ship

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - A body recovered from a suspected North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea was unloaded from a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) helicopter in Kagoshima, southwestern Japan, on Dec. 23. The JCG found bodies of three out of about 15 crew members of the ship that sank after exchanging fire with Japanese patrol boats Dec. 22.

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Life jacket of dead crew had tag with Korean characters

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows the manufacturer's tag, written in Korean, from the life jacket of one of the two crew members believed to have been on board a suspected North Korean spy ship. The bodies of the two were recovered by the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) on Dec. 23 after the ship sank the previous day in the East China Sea following an exchange of fire with Japanese patrol boats. Photo was provided by JCG.

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(PHOTO REPLACED) Crew launched rockets in shoot-out with Japanes

TOKYO, Japan - Crew members of the suspected North Korean spy ship that sank in the East China Sea following an exchange of fire with Japanese patrol boats Dec. 22 launched rockets during the shoot-out, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said Dec. 24. The white part in the photo released by the JCG on Dec. 24 shows images of heat origin captured by an infrared camera when the rockets were fired at the Japanese patrol boats.

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Coast guard forms task force for oil spill in Sea of Japan+

KYOTO, April 3 Kyodo - A Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol boat is in operation to recover oil slick off Shimane Prefecture in the Sea of Japan on April 3. JCG set up a task force to deal with fuel oil leaking from the Belizean-registered cargo ship AIGE which sank following collision with a Japanese fishing boat.

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Bombardier delivers 8 DHC8-Q300 prop planes to Japan Coast Guard

YAMATO, Japan - Japan Coast Guard officials cut the tape in front of a Canadian Bombardier DHC8-Q300 prop plane during a ceremony at the JCG hanger in the city of Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Feb. 13. A total of eight DHC8-Q300 prop planes, which will replace the outmoded YS11 propeller planes, were delivered to the Japan Coat Guard. (Kyodo)

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(3) Suspicious ship flees despite Coast Guard's halt order

TOKYO, Japan - An unidentified ship in the East China Sea, 250 kilometers northwest of Amamioshima Island, southwest of the Japanese main island of Kyushu, is seen in a photo taken by the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) at 2:29 p.m. on Dec. 22. A JCG patrol vessel fired shots using a 20-millimeter machine gun and hit the suspicious ship after it failed to stop following a round of warning shots. The ship temporarily stopped after catching fire, but later resumed its flight.

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(3)Coast guard prepares for probe of unidentified ship

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - Tadashi Kuroki, chief of the patrol and rescue department of the Japan Coast Guard, briefs the media at the JCG regional headquarters in Kagoshima on a probe of a suspected North Korean spy ship that began on the East China Sea on May 1.

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(1)N. Korean spy ship shown to public at Kagoshima dock

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - One of 3,000 select visitors looks at a salvaged North Korean spy ship involved in a shoot-out with Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol boats in 2001 as it went on public display at a Kagoshima City dock on May 17. Apart from the ship itself, the coast guard also showed a small boat, a water scooter and some weapons recovered from the ship. (Kyodo)

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Coast guard crew cited for service in mystery ship incident

KAGOSHIMA, Japan - Masao Kurusu, captain of a Japan Coast Guard (JCG) patrol boat, the Amami, receives a JCG award March 11 at Kagoshima port for meritorious service in chasing a suspected North Korean ship off the island of Amami-Oshima in Kagoshima Prefecture last December. He was one of the crew members from four patrol boats awarded the JCG's highest citations for the service.

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Briton in solo transpacific attempt in distress

SENDAI, Japan - Photo released by the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) shows Mick Dawson, from Boston, England, who sent a distress call June 14 during his solo attempt to row across the Pacific Ocean from Japan to the United States. Dawson told JCG by satellite phone that his rudder had broken and he had lost control of his vessel. (Kyodo)

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(4)JCD spotted 21 suspected N. Korean ships since 1963

TOKYO, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said Dec. 6 it has detected a total of 21 North Korean vessels over the past four decades that were actual or suspected spy ships. JCG, releasing photos of some of the ships, said 12 of them were spotted in Japanese territorial waters. (Kyodo)

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(1)JCD spotted 21 suspected N. Korean ships since 1963

TOKYO, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) said Dec. 6 it has detected a total of 21 North Korean vessels over the past four decades that were actual or suspected spy ships. JCG, releasing photos of some of the ships, said 12 of them were spotted in Japanese territorial waters. (Kyodo)