The is a counter terrorism tactical unit of the Japan Coast Guard, based at the . The acronym of its Kanji name has already been used by other units, the abbreviation "SST" is used for this team.

Background

In 1985, the Maritime Safety Agency established the to protect the maritime side of the Kansai International Airport cooperating with the land-side Riot Police Unit of the Osaka Prefectural Police. At the beginning of the establishment there were only 8 members. But due to the airport construction, the unit's manpower was increased to have 24 operators. In 1990, due to the plutonium transport mission, the number of members was increased to 37 and the equipment was updated. A detachment corp for the escort mission was organized and called , but after the mission ended it joined again with Kaikei-tai. In 1996, it was renamed to its current unit name.

Organization

Operators of the Special Security Team of the JCG

Structure

Although detailed organization is not disclosed, it is said that under command of the team leader, seven sections consisting of eight operators are organized. Specialists such as EOD and EMT are assigned for each sections. SST is based at the , adjacent to the Kansai International Airport, and able to be deployed nationwide by Saab 340B and Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma of the Japan Coast Guard.

Recruitment and training

Members at the time of the establishment of Kaikei-tai were mainly scouted from Tokkei-tai. After establishing the structure as SST, it is recruiting personnel from the entire Japan Coast Guard. Because it was the first counter-terrorism unit for MSA, Kaikei-tai faced considerable difficulties. However basic close quarters combat and marksman techniques were acquired in the GSDF Ranger Course at Fuji School, maritime counter-terrorism operations was an unknown field even for Rangers, so the MSA officers had no choice but to conduct trial and error by themselves about how to apply those techniques in maritime operations. In 1991, Kaikei-tai got an opportunity to invite combat advisers from the

United States Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main functions are conducting sma ...

under the financial support of the Sasakawa Foundation and with their instructions, its techniques and tactics were improved to international standards.

Equipment

At the beginning, Kaikei-tai used 4-inch model of Smith & Wesson Model 19

revolver A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...

s as its main sidearms. In 1987,

Howa Type 64 The , is a Japanese battle rifle used exclusively by the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Japan Coast Guard, Japanese Coast Guard. It is a Gas-operated reloading, gas-operated, selective fire weapon which is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO rou ...

designated marksman rifles and

Howa M1500 The Howa 1500 or is a bolt-action rifle produced in Japan by Howa Machinery. Introduced in 1979, it has been used by hunters as a hunting rifle with various cartridge offerings. It is also utilized by military and law enforcement elements as a ...

sniper rifle A sniper rifle is a high-precision, long-range rifle. Requirements include accuracy, reliability, mobility, concealment and optics for anti-personnel, anti-materiel and surveillance uses of the military sniper. The modern sniper rifle is a por ...

s were added to its equipment. In 1988, Heckler & Koch MP5A5/SD6

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

s were adopted. American advisers, while admiring the shooting skills of the MSA officers, pointed out that these revolvers were fundamentally lacking in firepower, so pistols were updated to SIG Sauer P228 by 1992, and Howa Type 89 assault rifles were also introduced. And it also has anti-materiel rifles manufactured by the

McMillan Firearms McMillan Firearms is an American arms manufacturer best known for the McMillan Tac-50, its .50 BMG long-range anti-materiel and sniper rifle. It also produces the McMillan Tac-338, McMillan Tac-300 and McMillan Tac-308 sniper rifles, the ALIAS R ...

Operational history

In 1989, Kaikei-tai operatives were involved in storming a Panama-registered vessel after receiving requests via radio for assistance in the East China Sea near Okinawan waters after British officers were attacked by Filipino crewmembers during a riot. All of the arrested crew members were then taken into custody. In 1992, the Keijou-tai was deployed on board to guard ships carrying nuclear waste from France all the way to Japan, protecting them from any sort of staged attacks from any radical anti-nuclear activist groups. In 1999, patrol vessel ''Mizuho'' was dispatched to East Timor for non-combatant evacuation operation, and at this time, there is information that two sections of SST were on board to ensure the security of port facilities. The SST has participated in several Proliferation Security Initiative exercises recently in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The SST was also responsible for apprehending Sea Shepherd protesters in 2008 after they were confronted by crewmembers of the Nisshin Maru.

Notes

References

Books

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Articles

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External links

Unofficial SST information page
{{Japanese Special forces Japan Coast Guard Non-military counterterrorist organizations