Act on Special Measures for Enhancement of the Conservation and Management of Tuna Resources (Act No. 101 of 1996).

The purpose of this Act, which consists of 11 articles, is to deal with the recent trends in tuna resources, the development in international cooperation for their conservation and management, and other substantial changes in the environment surrounding tuna fisheries, and to implement measures required for enhancing the conservation and management of tuna resource.
The Act stipulates that the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries shall establish a basic policy for enhancing the conservation and management of tuna resources based on tuna resource trends. The Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries must implement necessary measures to ensure that the measures for the conservation and management of resources decided on in International Organizations (Conservation and Management Measures") are complied with by Japanese fishery operators.
By international cooperation, the Act aims to establish a relevant international organization and also to enhance intergovernmental relation with other countries. In case of any activity which may affect the stability of tuna resources, the government shall restrict the import of Tuna from the concerned country and request the international organization to adopt regulations to reform this trend.
The Act further provides for: development and dissemination of technologies to maintain and increase tuna resources; the assistance to business storage; the collection of information on the subject and exchange this knowledge with international organization and involved countries. The Act also asks all operating tuna fisheries/distributors to provide regular reports to prove the compliance of their practice with this legislation.