The Japan Coast Guard said Wednesday it hopes to bring back 150 former members in an effort to strengthen security measures in the country's territorial waters amid a recent surge in the number of Chinese coral fishing boats near the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo.
"We are recruiting 150 work-ready, former personnel," Yuji Sato, commandant of the Coast Guard, said at a news conference Wednesday.
The recruiting drive is for both officers and enlisted personnel.