The SAREX is part of Operation Sapphire which was established through a memorandum of cooperation in 2022 between the U.S. and Japan Coast Guards as a perpetual operation to strengthen relationships, increase bilateral engagements, and focus on maintaining a free and open Indo-Pacific.

The U.S. Coast Guard assets involved in the exercise included the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward, a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in Los Angeles/ Long Beach, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Coast Guard Sector San Diego, a C-27 Spartan aircraft from Air Station Sacramento, and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Station San Diego. The Japan Coast Guard will be operating their 377-foot Coast Guard Cadet training ship Kojima. 

The small boats conducted a few approaches to the Kojima and the Robert Ward. The helicopter aircrew conducted basket hoists with the Kojima.

The Kojima is on a 101-day deep sea training voyage for officer candidates who graduated from the Japan Coast Guard Academy March 25. The Kojima’s crew had a port call in San Francisco, May 9, followed by facility tours of Coast Guard Pacific Area on Coast Guard Island.

The Kojima, which is captained by Takahashi Kuniaki, is 377-feet long and weighs 3,000 metric tons. It can travel at a maximum velocity of up to 18 nautical miles per hour. It is homeported in Kure, Hiroshima, Japan.

Original source can be found here