Two years after humiliatingly failing to capture suspected North Korean spy boats violating Japan's territorial waters, the government submitted a bill Friday to the Diet that would give the Japan Coast Guard new powers to fire on suspicious vessels.
The government is hoping the bill will be passed before the end of this month, together with legislation to enable the Self-Defense Forces to provide logistic support for any U.S. retaliation for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Japan has no legal provisions governing weapons use by the coast guard, who carry small arms and have 20mm machineguns on their patrol boats.