Japan Coast Guard personnel with authority to make arrests will man Maritime Self-Defense Force ships during antipiracy activities off the coast of Somalia, government officials said Saturday.
The unusual cross-service arrangement is being made because Self-Defense Forces officials are not authorized to make arrests.
When JCG officials arrest pirates, they will be handed over to the countries concerned or prosecuted in Japan.
The government has been studying ways of sending MSDF ships to Somalia to aid international efforts against piracy, but there is no established legal framework for the missions.
One stopgap measure being studied is to dispatch MSDF ships under a maritime policing provision in the SDF Law. If that happens, it is assumed the JCG will have to hold any pirates caught killing, injuring or plundering aboard Japanese ships.
But that is considered unlikely because the government is assuming pirates won't attack ships in areas being policed by the MSDF.
Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada has voiced reservations about sending MSDF ships to Somalia under the maritime policing provision, but expressed hope that new SDF dispatch legislation will be enacted to realize a dispatch.
The team covering the issue for the ruling parties held its first meeting Friday to begin drafting a bill for an MSDF dispatch. The team is expected to finish the legislation by mid-March for submission to the Diet, which will run through early June.