Abstract
In March 1999 and December 2001, the Japan Defence Agency (JDA) notified the Japanese Cabinet Office of incursions by suspicious ships, believed to originate from North Korea, into Japan’s sovereign maritime territory.1 The Cabinet Office responded in both instances by ordering the dispatch of the JCG and Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to apprehend the suspicious ships. These orders were virtually unprecedented. Prior to 1999, the Japanese authorities recorded some 21 instances of suspicious ships entering Japanese maritime sovereignty to engage in espionage and criminal activities, such as trading in illicit amphetamines for the Japanese market (Ishikawa 1999: 98; Mizoguchi 1999; Okabe 2003), conducting surveillance operations, or ferrying abducted Japanese citizens to serve as language teachers to North Korean spies (Chōbōjikenkenkyūkai 1999: 39). The 1999 and 2001 cases signalled a break from previous suspicious ship incursions: the Japanese government was adopting a more robust stance vis-à-vis incursions into its territorial waters.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Copyright information
© 2014 Lindsay Black
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Black, L. (2014). North Korean ‘Suspicious Ships’. In: Japan’s Maritime Security Strategy. Critical Studies of the Asia-Pacific Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385550_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137385550_5
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-48130-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-38555-0
eBook Packages: Palgrave Intern. Relations & Development CollectionPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)