Japan 



Japanese conipames have historically owned the largest distant-water fishing fleet in Asia. Japan is also the 

 country where die difficulties for a developed economy to sustain a distant-water fishing fleet are most clearly 

 apparent. Tlie main difficulties are: 1) die inability to attract young job seekers to distant-water fisheries, 2) 

 constantly increasing wages, 3) increasingly depleted foreign coastal fishery resources, and 4) increasingly restricted 

 and expensive access to distant-water fisheries. In fact, many of Japan's largest fishery companies are changing 

 die focus of their efforts from capture fisheries to diversified agri-business activities (e.g. value-added processing, 

 restaurants). 



Japanese distant-water fishing fleets have operated all over the world since the end of World War 11. Prior 

 to die signing of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in December 1982. Japanese 

 vessels had access to almost all conmiercially important fishing grounds, both on the high-.seas and in foreign coastal 

 waters. Witli tlie advent of UNCLOS, however, many coastal nations began to enforce their Exclusive Economic 

 Zones (EEZ) which greatly restricted Japanese access to prime foreign coastal fishing grounds. The "fisheries 

 nationalization" policies of many countries, including the United States and Canada, forced the Japanese high-seas 

 fisheries industry to seek new fishing grounds and business elsewhere. 



Contents 



L Distant-water Fishing Fleets 27 



A. Trawlers 27 



B. Squid Jiggers 30 



C. Driftnet Vessels 30 



D. Distant-water Salmon Vessels 31 



E. Distant-water Tuna Vessels 32 



II Government Promotion of Ship Building 33 



III. Current Status of Ship Building 34 



IV. Government Regulation of Fleet Size 34 



V. Vessel Exports 35 



VI. Exploratory Fishing 36 



VII. Access to Foreign Fishing Grounds 36 



A. Former Soviet Union/Russian Federation 37 



B. East Asia 37 



C. South/Soutlieast Asia 38 



D. Oceania 39 



E. Africa/Middle East 41 



F. Europe 42 



G. Latin America 42 



H. North America 43 



VIII. Aid to Developing Coastal Countries 44 



IX. Outlook 44 



A. Trawlers 44 



B. Squid Jiggers 44 



C. Driftnet Vessels 44 



D. Distant-water Salmon Vessels 45 



E. Distant-water Tuna Vessels 45 



Sources 46 



Appendices 51 



