Japan Coast Guard

The Japan Coast Guard (海上保安庁 Kaijō Hoan-chō), founded 1948 as the Maritime Safety Agency is the Japanese coast guard. It comprises about 12,000 personnel, is under the oversight of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, and is responsible for the protection of the coastline of Japan. The Japan Coast Guard maintains public order, performs oil pollution response, search and rescue, hydrographic surveys, oceanographic observations and charts (in Japanese and English).