(1）Organization
of Aids to Navigation
Once，aids to navigation are constructed, they are
required to operate constantly without a moment's stop，as vessels from
countries all over the world depend on the facilities.
The facilities must be of uniform characteristics
and performance．
Therefore, in most countries，the government organ
or similar national agencies are responsible for the eishment and operation
of aids to navigation.
In Japan，from the Meiji era，the government has
solely been responsible for the establishment and operation of aids to
navigation.
Private organs must receive permission from the government
to establish aids to navigation，and the facilities must receive in spection
from the government．
In Japan，January 1868，under the Foreign Affairs
Secretariat，a lighthouse officer was appointed．
Hence the Lighthouse Department has been transferred
to the Foreign Affairs Department，the Ministry of Finance，the Home Affairs
Department，the Engineering Department, the Ministry of posts and Telecommunications，the
Ministry of Transport and Communication，and the Ministry of Transport.
With the establishment of the Maritime Safety Agency
as an outer department of the Ministry of Transport，the Aids to Navigation
Service has been under the jurisdiction of the Maritime Safety Agency．
（2）Management
System of Aids to Navigation
Formerly, resident staff at major coastal lighthouses
carried out the maintenance and the operation of lighthouses and lighted
buoys in nearby ports．
The operating area is small, and the staff are
required to live in inconvenient quarters in remote areas．
With the installation of lighted buoys to indicate
areas where submarine mines were placed during the pacific war，and the
transfer of the control of aids to navigation under the control of local
public bodies to the Central Government, by 1930，the number of aids to
navigation reached the number three times the figure of the pre-war days．
With the development of marine transportation and fishing
industries，it was quite obvious that the number of facilities must
be increased to meet the growing demand．
The situation called for an efficient administration
system.
The principle of the new administrative system was；
①To locate the office in a convenient site，to increase
the efficiency of operation，and to improve the living standard of the
staff.
②To improve the automation of facilities so that the
staff need not be stationed at the site as far as possible.
③To provide boats and motor cars to establish a wide
area management system and to increase the efficiency of operation． The
new management system was starred in 1957． The remarkable development
of the electronics technology contributed to the automation of up-to-date
facilities，accelerating the establishment of the new organization．
Today，except at facilities where the staff are
required to stay for the operation of the facilities，the majority of the
facilities are unattended．
With boats and motor cars，at fixed intervals，the
staff are sent for the maintenance and repairs of the facilities．
Helicopters are also used in locations with difficult
access from the sea．
At present，as offices to maintain and operate
aids to navigation，as agencies of the eleven Regional Maritime Safety
Headquarters，there are 79 aids to navigation offices，26 maritime safety
offices and 6 Traffic Advisory Service Centers and 1 Loran Center．
（3）Automation
of Facilities
Aids to navigation provided with necessary equipment，automatically
control the turning on and off the lights，change the electric bulbs, and
in cases of power failure，switch on to a reserve power source （electric
generator or batteries）． At
lighthouses with diesel generators（electric generator), the starting and
stopping the engine，switching to a reserve power source，turning on and
off the lights are operated automatically． The operating condition
of facilities at the lighthouses are supervised by the aids to navigation
offices by the radio and the NTT circuits between the lighthouse and the
office．
In the case of lighted buoys，a light failure
alarm system of wireless radio is attached so that light failures are immediately
notified to the office．
In case of fogs and snow，an equipment to recognize
the situation is attached，and fog signals are blown automatically．
（4）Availability
of Natural Energy
At lighthouses，offshore fixed lights and lighted
buoys where commercial electricity is not available，the power source depends
on diesel generators and batteries． Various problems are involved
in the transportation of fuel and batteries．
Therefore，energy derived from the wind，waves
and sunshine have been used as the energy source for aids to navigation．
In 1934，at an offshore fixed light，a light of
14.5 w from a solar cell apparatus was the first case where a natural energy
source was applied．Today，solar cell apparatus of a maximum capacity of
1 kw are equipped at lighthouses．
The first wave activated generator gave a light
of lO w，but at present, lights of 100 w are in use．
Recently，a hybrid system of combining the solar generator
and the wind activated generator，and the solar generator and the wave
activated generator has been introduced．
To apply the use of energy derived from the wind，waves
and sunshine is a favorable system for aids to navigation from the environmental
point of view．
 
（5）Local weather
Information Service
Local Weather Broadcast Service provides local
weather data collected at the major lighthouses throughout the country
to vessels navigating on the sea．
Formerly，upon the request from vessels，the lighthouse
provided data of wind direction，Wind speed，visibility，weather，waves
and swells col1ected at the lighthouse．Later，upon request for broadcasting
of meteorological and marine information，in June，1949, regular information
service by wireless telegraphy was started.
In 1954，for small boats that are not equipped with wireless telegraphy，a
radio telephone system was developed so that information may be received
by the radio．
The system has gradually been developed to cover
all vessels．
In response to the request of the users，further
development of the telephone service and frequent broadcasts are carried
out to improve the service for the users．
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