North Korean troops are engaged in fighting pitched battles against Ukrainian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk oblast, and the jury is still out on the impact they are making in the Ukraine war. However, 23 years ago, Pyongyang was involved in another firefight with the Japanese Coast Guard that led to the sinking of a North Korean infiltration ship and impacted Tokyo’s pacifist constitution.
On December 22, 2001, the Battle of Amami-Oshima was fought, wherein, after a six-hour naval confrontation, the Japanese Coast Guard sank an armed North Korean infiltration ship disguised as a fishing trawler in the East China Sea. This incident marked the first time that Japanese forces sank a hostile ship since WWII.
The encounter not only led to the sinking of the North Korean infiltration ship, which the Japanese authorities later announced was a spy craft, but also led to the death of 15 North Korean sailors. Two Japanese Coast Guards were also injured in the battle.
This armed duel with North Korea within Japanese waters was a significant event in Japan’s history and played an important role in Tokyo’s shedding of its pacifist constitution and adopting a more proactive role for the country’s armed forces, officially called “self-defense forces.”
Battle of Amami-Oshima
An unidentified ship was spotted in Japanese waters near the island of Amami Oshima on December 21, 2001. The armed trawler was detected by a communications station in Kagoshima, which was under the control of the Japanese Defense Intelligence Headquarters.
The trawler was outside Japanese territorial waters but within the 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone, where Japan claims the right to protect its fishing and mineral resources.
Twenty ships and 14 aircraft were dispatched to intercept the vessel the following morning.
According to the Japanese authorities, the Japanese Coast Guard ships fired nearly 13 warning shots, asking the trawler to halt. However, the unidentified vessel fled toward China, failing to heed the warning shots and an order to stop.
When two of the Japanese patrol boats moved alongside the vessel, they were reportedly fired upon by crew members who had been hiding beneath blankets on the deck. In the ensuing volley of several hundred rounds, the two Japanese Coast Guards were hit.
A six-hour firefight ensued, in which over 1,000 machine gun rounds were fired by both sides; the North Korean crew were said to have wielded shoulder-held rocket launchers as well.
Several 20 mm rounds hit the North Korean trawler. Although the 20 mm machine gun fire would not normally be considered powerful enough to sink a ship, the vessel went down soon after.
Fifteen survivors were seen clinging to a buoy in heavy seas, but the Japanese ships were ordered to ignore them because of fears that they would use force to resist capture.
Two bodies were recovered, whereas thirteen more persons were declared missing and presumed dead several days later.
Japan Raises The Ship From The Dead
In 2003, Japan raised the trawler from the sea to confirm its origin and intentions. Inspection of the hull determined it was of North Korean origin and most likely a spy vessel.
Following the inspection, the hull was displayed at the Japanese Coast Guard Museum in Yokohama, where the trawler became a popular tourist attraction.
Japan’s First Armed Conflict Since WW-II
Incidentally, this was Japan’s first armed conflict in over 50 years since the end of the Second World War.
Following Japan’s surrender in the Second World War in 1945, Tokyo adopted a new constitution. This new constitution had a “no war” clause, Article 9, which outlawed war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. To achieve this aim, it was decided that Japan would not maintain armed forces with war potential, and hence, Japanese armed forces are officially called “self-defense forces.”
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are limited to the minimum necessary strength to protect the country.
However, with the rise of China and its increasing belligerence in the South China Sea, coupled with North Korea’s ambitious missile program, this “no war” clause of the Japanese Constitution was challenged by nationalist leaders.
However, the real impetus for change came from two incidents involving intrusion by North Korean spy ships.
In March 1999, a suspicious spy vessel resembling a trawler ignored warning shots fired over its bows and escaped to North Korea by outrunning Japanese patrol boats and destroyers. This was the first time that Japanese warplanes and destroyers had opened fire on any naval vessel.
Following the incident, Japan was forced to raise its maritime defenses.
Then, in 2001, came the ‘Battle of Amami-Oshima,’ which marked the country’s first fatal naval confrontation since the end of the Second World War.
The armed confrontation also justified the tough defense line taken by the then-Japanese Prime Minister, Junichiro Koizumi, who advocated revising Japan’s pacifist constitution and an expanded role for the country’s military.
Following the incident, Prime Minister Koizumi justified the firing as “self-defense” and commended the Coast Guard for the operation but said that the incident showed the “urgent need” to reform Japan’s self-defense guidelines.
He said that the country’s pacifist constitution meant the Coast Guard could not act as soon as the situation arose and could not coordinate with other armed forces.
Incidentally, Shinzo Abe, who served as Japan’s longest Prime Minister and under whom Japan shed its isolationist position and adopted a more proactive diplomatic role in global affairs, was serving as deputy chief cabinet secretary during the ‘Battle of Amami-Oshima.’ The armed naval confrontation with North Korea probably played an important role in shaping Abe’s worldview.
Under Abe, Japan had lifted some restrictions on using its military force overseas. In July 2014, Abe approved changes to the country’s military doctrine that would allow Tokyo to come to the aid of close allies but would not permit its troops to be deployed overseas. Abe also passed several security laws allowing the country to participate in collective self-defense. Abe referred to the changes he made as “proactive pacifism,” claiming that this way, Japan was contributing more to international peace and security.
In 2022, a public opinion survey conducted by the Sinophone Borderland found that nearly one-third of Japanese favored amending the constitution’s “no war” clause – Article 9, while 43% were neutral. The survey found that the Russian invasion of Ukraine and North Korean missiles is the most popular reason for supporting the amendment.
It can be safely said that the reverberations of the ‘Battle of Amami-Oshima’ are felt in Japan even today.
- Sumit Ahlawat has over a decade of experience in news media. He has worked with Press Trust of India, Times Now, Zee News, Economic Times, and Microsoft News. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Media and Modern History from The University of Sheffield, UK. He is interested in studying Geopolitics from a historical perspective.
- He can be reached at ahlawat.sumit85 (at) gmail.com
