The enactment of the antipiracy law in June 2009 was a statement by Japan that it was ready to step up to the plate and take part in the global effort against piracy off Somalia.
But pundits say the imminent arrival of four pirates — expected to take place as early as Sunday — will lay bare the difficulty of applying the rules.
"Those pirates will be brought to Japan because of the stipulations of the law, but it remains to be seen whether the trouble will be worth it," Okinawa University professor Tetsuo Maeda, an expert on military matters, told The Japan Times.