The Yacht Law Podcast

Cruising Japan: An Eastern Paradise Opens to Yachting

• Diane Byrne • Season 3 • Episode 5

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The luxury yachting world stands at the threshold of an exciting new frontier as Japan emerges as a premium cruising destination. While most yacht owners gravitate toward the Mediterranean's familiar shores, our latest conversation reveals why Japan deserves serious consideration for your next maritime adventure.

Sailing through Japanese waters offers an unexpected blend of familiar Western yachting comforts with distinctive Eastern hospitality. The country's approach to welcoming private vessels proves remarkably straightforward thanks to the Neko-san permit system, allowing indefinite stays without repeated customs clearances. Crew members receive generous 90-day visas, creating the perfect environment for extended exploration of Japan's 3,000 islands and breathtaking 18,000-mile coastline.

Japan's maritime infrastructure stands ready to accommodate the most discerning yacht owners. Well-appointed marinas staffed by attentive personnel, sophisticated mooring systems designed to withstand typhoons, and pristine waters protected by strict environmental regulations create an experience that rivals or exceeds traditional yachting destinations. The Japanese government clearly recognizes yachting's potential, evidenced by their inaugural delegation heading to the Monaco Boat Show this year.

Perhaps most compelling is what Japan represents for the future of global yachting. With McKinsey research indicating that only 4% of ultra-wealthy individuals currently participate in yachting, destinations like Japan offer the perfect combination of novelty, safety, and luxury that could expand the industry's horizons. Whether you're a seasoned yachtsman seeking fresh cruising grounds or considering your first yacht charter, Japan's welcoming waters, stunning archipelago, and sophisticated maritime culture deserve a prominent place on your nautical bucket list.

Ready to explore beyond the familiar Mediterranean and Caribbean routes? Join the pioneering yacht owners discovering Japan's maritime treasures. Follow us for more insights into emerging yachting destinations and share your own cruising experiences in previously unexplored waters.

Have a yacht law question? Email it to info@megayachtnews.com or michael@moore-and-co.com for your chance to have it answered on our podcast. All requests for confidentiality and/or anonymity are respected.

Hiring a lawyer is a big decision. Visit Moore & Company for the legal team's qualifications and experience. And, to learn the latest about superyacht launches, shipyards, designs, and destinations, visit Megayacht News.

Diane M. Byrne:

Welcome everybody. Well, Michael, you and I are accustomed to sometimes doing these podcasts in separate cities in Florida, it never ceases to amaze me how we could do something so simple in very, very different places. So why don't you tell everybody where you are and why you're there?

Michael Moore:

Absolutely my pleasure. I'm actually cruising in Japan. I'm on board the motor yacht Donna Amelia 2, and I've been here for almost a month on board this beautiful Hakvoort. It's a 34-meter Hawkport and let me just simply say that, yeah, the experience has been amazing. We have seen very few yachts, the most important of which was a 38-meter Delta named Sinbad, but otherwise it's been a very Western sort of experience and, generally speaking, I think cruising in Japan has gotten to be a lot easier. Everyone has been very welcoming.

Michael Moore:

But I think the key to the process is, uh, something called a Naikosan permit, which is very much like a cruising permit in uh, and when you have reciprocal rights with countries to allow cruising in their waters, they will allow you to cruise in your waters and vice versa. So we're a private yacht, we we are not a commercial yacht. Commercial operations are completely different. They do have a well-developed pamplitage law here, which means there is no coast-wise trade unless it's specifically permitted.

Michael Moore:

But this Naikosan permit thing is quite remarkable in that the vessel can stay as long as it wishes, it does not have to clear in and out of customs. The crew also, along with that, gets a 90-day visa, and so it's very, very easy to cruise in Japan. Everyone is very friendly. There's no, except for the initial entry. Of course there's a major survey of the boat by customs agents and immigration officials and so forth. But yeah, coming, being on board, getting the vessel entered into the Japanese waters, getting the crew permitted to be here, it's all been a very easy experience, which I highly recommend to everyone.

Diane M. Byrne:

Awesome. I love it. Well, japan is certainly a country that a lot of Americans are familiar with and have traveled to, and I think it's kind of ripe, the right time, for American cruisers to really be heading there too. There have been plenty of Americans who have enjoyed Thailand for several years. I know representatives over in the Asia Pacific say that Thailand is actually even gaining in popularity, so why not the rest of the Asian region, right?

Diane M. Byrne:

Japan is stunning from all the photos I've seen. I personally have never been there. I have friends who've been there. Now I have one more friend in you, thankfully who's been there and says it is spectacular. So why don't we go into some of the interesting details about how it sounds in some respects, like it's similar in the Western world, so to speak, like cruising in the United States, cruising in the Mediterranean, cruising in other regions that are very popular in terms of being able to come in on certain visas and cruise for a certain amount of time. Are they actually looking at what's been going on in some of the more traditional regions and basing their laws on that, or did they just do it naturally?

Michael Moore:

Well, I think that it's a little bit of both. Let me say that probably the number one cruising destination in the world other than just pure yachting, is Alaska. That's a cruise line situation, if you think it through, and you're sort of coming down from Alaska, going on your way to Singapore and the Malacca Straits, over to, you know, monaco, for example, you would be going right by Japan, so it's right on the way, whether you're going north or south, and I think that, simply stated, it is a fantastic cruising around the Ryukyu Island, where we have been almost our entire stay, which is that archipelago that comes off the southern side of Japan, it's just east of Taiwan, it's what's called the East China Sea and on that subject, in terms of the legalities of things, suffice it to say that almost all these countries I've checked them out have a 12 mile territorial sea and they have a contiguous zone that's another 12 miles. On top of that, and because some of the countries in this region are not terribly friendly I mean China would be one where the, the southernmost island in the in the archipelago, coming out of Japan, is, you know, right next door to Taiwan. Put that in perspective, and again I mentioned earlier, the sea itself is the East China Sea, but if you think in terms of nautical miles, in terms of territorial sea and contiguous zone, you're really talking about a 24-mile sort of sea that you can very easily and safely move into.

Michael Moore:

I think that, to your point about Japan being ripe for cruising, I am advised that, for the first time ever, japan will be sending a delegation to the Monaco Boat Show this year, and so that's definitely a sign of interest on their part. I also know that Yatsu, the brokerage house out of Monaco, principally and specifically a fellow inside Yatsu, nigel Beatty, who has a home in Kobe and is in fact the head of the Asian Pacific Yachting Association, has been in touch because, as it turns out, one of the crew members on board, donna Amelia Tu, is a woman named Risa Toyoda, and Risa will be with that delegation in Monaco. So we'll be with that delegation in Monaco and, you know, just as easy and friendly and bilingual and welcoming as any. And, yeah, I should tell you that when you do first make entry, yachts have a tremendous. They're a little bit different. We had just a wine cellar filled with wine and they had a little trouble believing it was for personal consumption and we we did in fact have a more than half of the collection got put under a custom bond and uh, yeah, it was kind of a funny moment because it was like, uh, you're gonna, you're gonna drink all this wine. It's like, yeah, we're not importing it, we're gonna going to drink it.

Michael Moore:

I wanted to interject, if I might, this vessel that I'm on, just because it's got such a history. The owners are basically Brazilian, portuguese, and Donna Amelia was the queen consort, portugal, very beloved personality, the wife of King Charles. Portugal has only had two total queens or true monarchs, but the wife of the kingles, portugal's, only had two total queens or, you know, true monarchs. But the wife of the king is called the queen consort and sometimes they have the title queen, and so donna amelia was a much loved queen of portugal and it's just interesting to me to be on board a yacht that just kind of honors their heritage in the way this yacht has done. There's a beautiful oil painting of donna amelia ii above the main staircase leading from the main salon up to sky lounge and, by the way, shout out to hawkford.

Michael Moore:

I am just totally stunned by the absolute wonderful quality. Everything is just perfect. I mean the wood and all the treatments, the furnaces, the appointments. It's just what yachting is supposed to be. I didn't really know the Hawkport line that well I actually. I know a lot of the other European yards as we all do, like Lurssen and the Fetchip yards and so forth. The Hawkport has got to be right up in that same quality. I think they're just smaller.

Diane M. Byrne:

You know I want to get back to something you just said a second ago because it really struck me. Well, actually, before I get to that, first of all, the history of the yacht's name and the rich real history of the royalty is fascinating. I love stories about why a yacht is named the way she is. That's a terrific story, but what I wanted to also get to was something you mentioned about one of the crew members-- how she is actually going to be part of the delegation, with the Japanese coming to Monaco.

Diane M. Byrne:

That is such a smart move. Lots of countries over the years have come to Monaco, have come FLIBS, even Palm Beach, to promote themselves and they've picked the right shows for sure. But a lot of the time it's the individuals from the tourist board or some other division of the government and not to say that they don't understand.

Diane M. Byrne:

Of course they understand the rules and regulations as they should. That should be the priority. But having someone who understands yachting, who understands what people are going to be looking for, particularly being able to speak to the captains and the owners' representatives who may be approaching their display is so, so smart, because they're literally going to be speaking the right language.

Michael Moore:

right, it's going to be so much more helpful. You know, and it's just this, it's a it's, it is this sort of these parallel universes. I mean, when I met her, you know she was a nice young woman, very helpful and of course, immediately spoke the language, but also the maritime culture, the yacht culture was there. She understands what it means when you're on board as a guest and you have this attentive crew that is giving you this experience where you're just cared for on a level that most five-star, six-star hotels give you and clearly her job is to listen to what your needs are. So I think it is the truth For her to understand yachting, it will not be a problem. I think that translating her yachting experience and background from Japan to Monaco and as the global family meets in Monaco, I think it's going to be, you know, once it gets a foothold, I think you're going to see, you know, japan will be a major prison ground. It's very, very welcoming.

Michael Moore:

Let me mention this. You know one of the things that I've said there's only been one other yacht in this entire. We've been on board almost 30 days now. We stepped on board on June 22nd. Total communications, total email. If you're the kind of person that I am, you know when I want to stay in contact with the office and keep working situations that come up in the law office. You don't miss a beat. With a combination of Japan's sophisticated communication systems, coupled with Elon Musk and the Skylink, you're just not going to have a problem. I want to mention this.

Michael Moore:

I think that commercial usage Japan has not been discovered by the cruise lines. Japan is very controlling in terms of the kind of business they want and the kind of business they don't want and, from what I can see, they love yachting. They understand it. They're very environmentally sophisticated. We'll talk in the moment about environmental laws and the very hardcore legal overlay of Japan. But just in terms of docking, with berths, available, crew, they're very service oriented. They'll be pre-men lined up on the dock ready to take lines. Every marina's well appointed, everybody's friendly, maybe not speaking any English. They don't need to speak English. They speak maritime. And you know this is a country of several thousand islands 3,000 to be precise, or at least generally give you an idea. And so you of course have a ferry network that ties all of these islands together. So, right out of the box you have this amazing, you know, 170 sea stations. You go into these incredible bays and there's these massive mooring buoys Mooring buoys that can handle a ship, but they're there because of typhoons.

Diane M. Byrne:

Oh yeah, yeah, you're in a typhoon band.

Michael Moore:

But if you want to retreat to a bay which is a more sheltered area, like we call them, hurricane holes in Florida. But the infrastructure of japan is is something that to be admired, because they have these massive, well-anchored mooring buoys that you can tie off on. It's easy to just put a line on in the bay and you can stay there for the duration. They have about a hundred marinas in the whole country, I'm told, and but with 18,000 miles of coastline you'll never get bored and part of the fun is to see these ferries of all shapes and sizes just moving constantly between the islands. I mean, you know you'll see one or two a day. It's not like I-95. But they're always interesting looking, beautiful designs, beautifully maintained. So anyway, that's kind of the overload. I will say this about the law and I know you always keep me on track with the fact. This is the yacht.

Diane M. Byrne:

Law podcast.

Michael Moore:

but the thing that's interesting to me was also the fact that you see these gleaming Coast Guard vessels everywhere. Well, you know, the Imperial Navy was disbanded after World War II. There's an American presence in Japan. The military it's kind of low profile but it's kind of there. But the Japanese created something called the Japanese Self-Defense Forces Act. Most of their military bases are things like these Coast Guard vessels. They're absolutely perfect vessels. They're absolutely perfect.

Michael Moore:

But in terms of the the aspects of yachting and sailing, they've fully adopted the COLREGs , which are the, you know, typically are the collision regulations, but they're the same ones we observe, of course, as in global. You know. You know what is the proper lookout, what is the safe speed, how to avoid, avoid collisions, rules of overtaking, give way vessels, head-on situations, crossing situations. You know, with all these ferries moving here, there and everywhere and yachts moving here, there and everywhere, you kind of do need to know your rules of the road. Of course, all these captains on these yachts obviously know all they need to know about give way and stand on vessels and everything that goes with that. They have a sophisticated port regulations act which governs the movements in and out of ports. And how do you? Uh, um, how you behave, you might say, in in the beautiful bays and mooring grounds that they have so nicely created. You see signs everywhere regarding ecological awareness to be ecologically sensitive and, as I said, with the mooring buoys you don't even have to put down an anchor most of the time, you just simply hook up the mooring buoy.

Michael Moore:

I want to mention some of the big ideas of law we take for granted because the United Nations, you know, had its invention of the. Some of the big ideas of law we take for granted because the United Nations had its invention of the law of the sea. The United States has never signed it. I think the United States is thinking we're so advanced technologically if we sign this law, it'll be an obligation to try to transfer technology. It was a Donald Rumsfeld thing. I never completely understood it. But Japan has completely embraced the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and they deal with, for example, in the context of that resource management.

Michael Moore:

There are fish farms everywhere, Diane, when you go into these bays, everywhere you'll see a fish farm. There's not a big deal, it's just you can see the little flotation devices that mark the area. Now, at night they're not well lighted. So that's one thing I've talked to the captain on board about. He said, no, you can't navigate at night because at least on a close in, because all the fish farms are close in, they're right next to the shore, but I think I mentioned it was a cavitas loft.

Michael Moore:

They don't just let you have your way in and out of Japan. They govern commercial trade in the islands and it's pretty well regulated, much as it is in the United States. Insurance, you know we have in the united states. We have what is called the cofer, the certificate of financial responsibility, which is a certain class of yacht. Everyone has to have a cofer and if you're a certain size you have to have an additional card they call it the blue card which the wreck removal insurance. Japan is pretty serious about uninsured vessels. You don't see any derelict vessels. You don't see any. You know, just completely unseaworthy boats floating around. Everything's completely seaworthy and squared away.

Michael Moore:

I wanted to mention something called the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. It has to do with what is also generically called the Seabed Law or the International Seabed Authority Law. This is something that I think is very, very important, because this is this quasi-governmental group based in Kingston, jamaica. I'm not sure if they created Kingston to kind of keep it low profile, but that is the group that's going to be all about seabed mining, and the worry that I have, of course, is how do you protect the marine environment from the harmful effects of deep-sea mining? We all know it's coming 167 member states, and the European Union to boot, are all involved. They have these shadowy meetings down in Jamaica which I'm going to figure out a way to attend. But Japan is very serious about being a part of that seabed authority. As you well know, I'm involved with SeaCapers and we are now the number one vendor for the bathymetric surveying which is done with these little loggers that we put on the nav stations of yachts, and we're ahead of schedule in mapping the entire ocean floor by 2030. But it's vitally important because we're now in the stages of finishing up this global survey, which was going to happen because individual companies were already doing it. So now it's going to be more of a global thing where these at least I hope these 167 member states plus the European Union will in fact be willing to protect the marine environment and do the right thing. They say it's 2010.

Michael Moore:

The only other thing that I wanted to, I guess the only other thing is Japan has adopted SOLAS to. The only other thing that I wanted to, I guess the only other thing is they. Japan has adopted SOLAS, that's the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, and they've adopted the prevention of police laws and, of course, the STWC, which is the Seafarer's Training, watch Standing and Watchkeeping and Certification Law. So they're completely in line with the maritime world. 70% of all yachting is done in the Mediterranean and frankly, I mean I love the Med. We all remember the day we first went to the Med and the first day we saw these cool places like San Trebe and Monaco or Nice or Cannes or whatever. But I think that's changing and I think, for what it's worth, it's certainly an enriching experience.

Diane M. Byrne:

Definitely. You know. The interesting thing is that so many more yachts have been starting to explore the rest of the world. We talk all the time about how 70%, 71% of the world, we talk all the time about how 70%, 71% of the world is covered by water and yet yachts have stuck to the same places over and over again. The Met is great, the Caribbean is great, united States cruising, bahamas, etc. They're all great, but when there's so much more to the world, why not go see it?

Diane M. Byrne:

So the fact that you're out exploring Japan and you've given such a great overview of the legal framework, that can lend a lot of comfort to people, knowing that there's essentially an infrastructure already in place, versus some other nations that don't really have an understanding of cruising, there's really very little regulation Not that a lack of regulation is necessarily a bad thing, but knowing that they are fully fluent in maritime let's put it that way that goes a long, long way to making people more comfortable, and it sounds like it's really just going to do wonders in terms of opening up the cruising grounds and making people want to go there and go explore it. It sounds like they're taking all the right steps, even in terms of having this delegation go to Monaco adopting SOLAS, all the different rules and regulations. I understand also them not opening up to commercial activity, charter activity, straight away. It sounds like they're kind of doing the baby steps right as opposed to saying let's jump fully into the pool and just go, uh-oh what are we doing Right.

Diane M. Byrne:

So the approach is kind of carefully measured, and properly measured, I guess you might say.

Michael Moore:

I think so. I think one of the things that what one learns very, very quickly is Japan is, if anything, they'd be ahead of the rest of the world. It's truly a maritime nation, whereas Greece, for example, has become, in my world, insular and very inward focusing. Their protectionist laws really seem to hurt the Greek economy economy. It's not as free and friendly as the Amalfi Coast and their cruising grounds around Italy and into the Adriatic, but little by little yachting is going outside of that core you know, barcelona, nice, monaco, portofino, I think Japan, maybe more than those places, even has been doing maritime trade.

Michael Moore:

How do you manage 3,000 islands? How do you make that a viable force? You're doing trade, you're doing tourism, you're making life better for your, your people, job creation and so forth. That's all happening. It's uh, friendly, it's safe. I mean you have a feeling of safety that you just simply don't have in a lot of places in the world today. They are highly organized and very kind people. I mean we all know the kind of. You know the bowing, you might say the traditional things of respect that they do, but you know there's no zealot like the converted. But yeah, I think it's going to be. It's going to be good for yachting. I mean, it just opens up.

Michael Moore:

By the way, I read I'm reading a report by McKinsey Co and it's on yachting. It just came out Now, the largest, probably the most prominent consulting firm in the world, the woman who wrote it, with three other colleagues she had written a 70 report. And the thing I want to mention in terms of ultra wealthy people, which means liquid assets, investable assets of 30 million dollars or more yawning only has a four percent penetration rate, 4%. It really speaks loudly to how much growth the yacht world could enjoy. She does these analyses between chartering, buying and selling or owning or you know, owning and buying and selling or chartering and then also comparing that model to the ancillary businesses like marinas, and you take a safe harbor. Even with 140 marinas, it's really nothing in the world. That's only 5% of the world's group of births there's 160,000 births in the world but here again, the largest Molina operator in the world has a very tiny piece of the market. So I'll send you a copy of that report, by the way. It's amazing, it's pure gold.

Diane M. Byrne:

I think I actually have that one. I haven't read it yet. The McKinsey team has been in touch with us previously.

Michael Moore:

They do a great job 70 pages report on the status of yachting in the world.

Diane M. Byrne:

Yeah, they do some real key analysis, and in depth, really in depth. It's fascinating, fascinating.

Michael Moore:

Well.

Diane M. Byrne:

Michael, I would love to keep talking to you about Japan because it's on my bucket list of places to visit. So I think either we'll have to rich a nation with a rich maritime history and really understanding the yachting industry and how there are some terrific opportunities to open their doors. So absolutely so well thanks for your firsthand insight, and not just from your legal.

Michael Moore:

I'm available for any yacht owner who'd like a, an aging maritime lawyer, to be on board you know pining on the law, you know, throughout the day I'm available. I'm saying I've never been invited to do anything like this before and it really has been a wonderful experience.

Diane M. Byrne:

Well, if there's anybody who wants a semi-aging, I'd like to say I wish I were going in the opposite direction, but I'm not.

Michael Moore:

You can have your own publicist or your own editor or publisher.

Diane M. Byrne:

I'll be the personal publicist and the author of their life story let's try that. Well, everybody, it's been a pleasure to educate you about cruising in japan and how the law applies, as always. If you have a suggestion for us for a topic for a future podcast episode, we would love to hear from you. Our contact information is in the show notes, as always. We thank you for listening and we hope you've learned a lot today. Michael, why, why don't you sign off?

Michael Moore:

Well, this is Michael Moore signing off from Miyaka and Amami Island, Japan.

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Diane M. Byrne

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Michael Moore

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