The Diet is expected to pass bills approved Thursday by the ruling parties to raise the maximum fine to ¥30 million for poaching by foreign fishing crews in Japanese territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.
Numerous ships suspected to be from China have been spotted recently poaching red coral around the Ogasawara and Izu island chains in the Pacific south of Tokyo.
The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito plans to submit the bills to the Lower House soon.
The major opposition Democratic Party of Japan is likely to vote for them as well.
"An emergency response is required," Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi said at a meeting of his party's executives. "We are obtaining cooperation from opposition parties."
Currently the maximum fine for poaching in Japanese territorial waters is ¥4 million; for unauthorized fishing within Japan's exclusive economic zone it's ¥10 million. The fines will be raised to ¥30 million regardless of location, coalition sources said.
The revised bills will also raise the amount of money needed to secure the release of a ship crew arrested for poaching. The bills will also include a stipulation to impose an additional fine of roughly ¥6 million per kilogram of poached coral, the sources said.