The proposed 200-meter craft, with an estimated total price tag of 68 billion yen, would significantly surpass the agency's current largest ship, which weighs in at about 6,500 tons. Designed to accommodate roughly 1,000 individuals, the vessel aims to address natural calamities and facilitate evacuations from outlying islands during crises.
Set for deployment in fiscal 2029, this project emerges as Japan intensifies its maritime presence near the contested Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, a territory also claimed by China under the name Diaoyu.
The Coast Guard's overall fiscal 2025 budget proposal is poised to hit an unprecedented 293.5 billion yen, marking a 12 percent increase from the initial fiscal 2024 allocation. This request encompasses 4.16 billion yen for a pair of sizeable unmanned SeaGuardian aircraft and 40 million yen for global initiatives targeting drug-related offenses.
Repeated incursions by Chinese vessels into Japanese waters surrounding the uninhabited Senkaku islets have prompted the Japan Coast Guard to enhance its surveillance capabilities in the region.
