Legal Structures of Marine Protected Areas in Japan

This paper aims to explain how Japanese MPAs are established, managed, and implemented based on different laws. It introduces the definition of MPAs adopted within the governmental agencies and the relevant policy documents that describe the government's intention to expand MPAs in Japan. It then discusses the first and second largest types of MPAs in Japan, which represent centralized and community-based types of MPAs, respectively. It also touches upon the 2019 amendment to Japan's Nature Conservation Act, which enables the government to designate MPAs in the offshore seabed area to protect its ecosystems.