| aalcc | Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee |
| adiz | Air Defense Identification Zone |
| api | Additional Protocol (i) to the Geneva Conventions |
| bmd | ballistic missile defense |
| caricom | The Caribbean Community |
| cmc | The Central Military Commission (China) |
| clcs | Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf |
| doalos | United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea |
| dod | The Department of Defense (The United States) |
| dprk | Democratic People’s Republic of Korea |
| efz | exclusive fisheries zone |
| eez | exclusive economic zone |
| gci | Geneva Convention (i) on Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field |
| gcii | Geneva Convention (ii) on Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked of Armed Forces at Sea |
| gciii | Geneva Convention (iii) on Prisoners of War |
| gcvi | Geneva Convention (iv) on Civilians |
| ghq | The General Head Quarter (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers) |
| hc | The House of Councilors (Japan) |
| hr | The House of Representatives (Japan) |
| icao | International Civil Aviation Organization |
| icc | The International Criminal Court |
| icj | The International Court of Justice |
| icrc | The International Committee of Red Cross |
| ilc | The International Law Commission |
| imo | The International Maritime Organization |
| isnt | Informal Single Negotiating Text |
| itlos | The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea |
| jasdf | The Japan Air Self-Defense Force (Japan) |
| jcg | The Japan Coast Guard (Japan) |
| jfa | The Japan Fisheries Association (Japan) |
| jgsdf | The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (Japan) |
| jmsdf | The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (Japan) |
| ldp | The Liberal Democratic Party (Japan) |
| meti | The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (Japan) |
| mlit | The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (Japan) |
| mod | The Ministry of Defense (Japan) |
The Ministry of Finance (Japan) |
|
| mofa | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Japan) |
| msr | marine scientific research |
| nm | nautical miles |
| ntt | Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (Japan) |
| pap | People’s Armed Police (China) |
| pla | The People’s Liberation Army (China) |
| plan | The People’s Liberation Army Navy (China) |
| pko | peace keeping operations |
| pow | prisoners of war |
| rok | The Republic of Korea |
| scapin | Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Directives |
| scc | Japan-US Security Consultative Committee |
| sdf | The Self-Defense Forces (Japan) |
| slocs | sea lines of communication |
| sofa | Status of Forces Agreement |
| unclos | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea |
| unclos i | First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea |
| unclos ii | Second United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea |
| unclos iii | Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea |
| wmd | weapons of mass destruction |