ABSTRACT
This chapter explains Japan’s defensive, status quo-oriented behavior in the global ocean politics during the period between the first and the third United Nations conference on the Law of the Sea, between 1958 and 1973. It describes the cybernetic theoretical model adopted for the study is presented and applied to the analysis of the decision-making process in Japan, culminating in the twelve-mile territorial sea and 200-mile fishery zone decisions in 1977. Equally apparent is the fact that the Japanese decision to establish an extended fishery zone was not simply a fishery policy decision but, more importantly, one that was made on a highly political basis. From the perspective of the fishery policy makers, “the fishery-territorial sea” was, in effect, a fishery zone, at least insofar as its immediate legal status was concerned. The chapter presents some general observations are offered on the behavior of status quo societies caught in the middle of a major transformation of the established order.
