*This Law amended Law on Territorial Sea (Law No.30 of 1977)

• Summary

This legal document contains Japan’s Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (Law No. 30 of 1977, as amended by Law No. 73 of 1996). Article 1 of this Law confirms the 12-nautical mile Territorial Sea regime measured from the outer limit of the baseline (low-water/straight). The specific coordinates of basepoints forming the baseline to separate the internal water from other maritime zones and the criteria to establish such baselines are provided in Cabinet Order No.210.

Article 3 regards hot pursuits. Article 4 establishes a 24-nautical mile contiguous zone measured from the outer limit of the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured.

This law maintains, inter alia, the supplementary provisions in the 1977 Law on the Territorial Sea indicating a 3-nautical mile Territorial Sea regime for the Soya Strait, the Tsugaru Strait, the eastern channel of the Tsushima Strait and the western channel of the Tsushima Strait, and the Osumi Strait.

• Document: Japan’s Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (Law No. 30 of 1977, as amended by Law No. 73 of 1996)
• Amends: Japan’s Law on the Territorial Sea (Law No. 30 of 2 May 1977),
• Enforced by: Japan’s Cabinet Order No.434 of 2001: Enforcement Order of the Law on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone (as amended by Cabinet Order No.210 of 1977, Cabinet Order No.383 of 1993, Cabinet Order No.206 of 1996, and Cabinet Order No.434 of 2001).