The Japan Coast Guard announced Tuesday that it will station three special high-speed patrol vessels on the Sea of Japan coast by the end of March. The move comes in the wake of last year's failed chase of apparent North Korean spy boats.
The boats in question were spotted March 23, 1999, off the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture.
They sped away at high speeds of about 35 knots, distancing themselves from Japanese patrol vessels in pursuit, despite aircraft support, and later entered North Korean waters.
The chase fiasco prompted the coast guard to request budget allocations for faster ships.
The new vessels, each at about 220 tons, will be equipped with three engines and be armed with a 20mm machinegun and infrared searching system.
They will be stationed at the ports of Niigata, Kanazawa and Maizuru, Kyoto Prefecture, the coast guard said.
The armored vessels can cruise at up to 40 knots. The top speed of the fastest patrol vessel the coast guard currently has is 35 knots.
The first of the three ships, to be christened the Tsurugi, will be launched from a dock of Hitachi Zosen Corp. in Kawasaki on Thursday.
The other two also bear names of mountains in the Japan Alps -- the Norikura and the Hotaka.