[JURIST] The Japanese Diet has passed an anti-piracy law, authorizing the government to dispatch forces to combat pirate attacks [JURIST news archive] against commercial vessels. The law, passed by the House of Representatives [official website, in Japanese] Friday, allows the country's military to protect foreign vessels as well as domestic ones, joining multinational forces in policing the Somali coast. Additionally, the law criminalizes acts of piracy, allowing the country to punish offenders. The law bestows authority upon both the country's Maritime Self-Defense Force (MSDF) and Coast Guard [official websites, in Japanese] to police the Somalian coast and the Gulf of Aden and creates anti-piracy measures that are meant to be consistent [statement, in Japanese] with the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea [text]. The legislation was encouraged by the Japanese Shipowners' Association and other groups out of concern for further acts of piracy that have resulted in vessel damage and the hostage of Japanese nationals in the past. Prime Minister Taro Aso [official website, in Japanese] discussed the law [statement, in Japanese] and its international significance:

Under this law, Japan will be able to protect not only Japanese-related vessels from acts of piracy but also vessels of other countries. The law criminalizes acts of piracy under the Japanese legal system; thereby Japan will be able to take more effective and appropriate measures against acts of piracy in cooperation with all countries concerned.

Aso added that the legislation was important because of the need for foreign trade and the fact that Japan is surrounded by water.

In January, Japanese defense minister Yasukazu Hamada [official profile] ordered [press release; JURIST report] the country's MSDF to prepare to travel to the waters surrounding Somalia to combat piracy in the region, despite concerns that combat could be prohibited by the country's pacifist constitution. Hamada has said the plan is designed to protect the country's commercial interests, but opposition lawmakers were concerned the move violates the Renunciation of War [text] chapter of the the country's 1946 constitution. Somali piracy continues to be an issue for countries across the globe. Last week, Kenyan prosecutors charged 17 Somalis with piracy after being arrested and turned over by US Naval forces in the Gulf of Aden. Last month, officials from the G8 countries [BBC backgrounder] agreed to work toward establishing a system for trying pirates [JURIST report] captured in African waters. Also in May, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime [official website] obtained Kenyan support [VOA report] to launch a new plan to combat piracy by policing Horn of Africa waters. In April, Kenyan authorities brought charges [JURIST report] against 18 Somali nationals who were captured by German and French forces over the previous two months.