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On June 4, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Commemorative Ceremony for the 70th Anniversary of the Formation of the Japan Coast Guard held in Tokyo, in the presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
 
The Prime Minister said in his congratulatory address,
 
“Today, in the gracious presence of Their Majesties the Emperor and Empress of Japan and on the occasion of the ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the formation of the Japan Coast Guard, I would like to deliver some congratulatory remarks.
 
The Japan Coast Guard was established in 1948, soon after the end of World War II, embodying the mission of restoring peace to seas, which had become insecure and disordered.
 
For 70 years since then, the Japan Coast Guard has preserved peace at sea and supported Japan’s prosperity, steadfastly fulfilling its duties, including cracking down on maritime crime, guarding our territorial waters, ensuring the safety of maritime transportation, and conducting maritime surveys, all of which are important and difficult tasks but necessary to sustain Japan as an oceanic state.
 
Today, at a time when the situation in the waters surrounding Japan is becoming increasingly severe, maritime security has become an important pillar of our ocean policy.
 
Oceans which are free and in which the rule of law is respected throughout, where incidents are resolved peacefully without the use of force and in accordance with the law, can only be realized when like-minded countries work together to shape and strengthen the international maritime order.
 
I hope that the Japan Coast Guard, together with its counterparts from around the world that aspire to peace at sea, will continue to protect the infinite expanses of blue oceans with its radiant white patrol boats, and preserve them for future generations.
 
In closing, as the Prime Minister of Japan, I promise that the Government will take all possible measures to ensure that the Japan Coast Guard can continue to live up to the trust placed in it by the people and steadfastly fulfill its noble mission of protecting the seas.”