[4] The National Institution for Academic Degrees and Quality Enhancement of Higher Education, an Independent Administrative Institution affiliated with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) has recognised the courses and awards the graduates of the academy degrees (Bachelor of Science in Coast Guard Operations and law Enforcement to JCGA graduates uniquely) on request.

[5][circular reference] Cadets study basic education subjects including English, maritime law, physics, and political science in the first and second years, and begin taking specialized subjects in navigation, engine, and information and communications majors[6] in the second half of the second year.

The present campus was opened in 1952 after JCGA's founding a year earlier in Tokyo to provide officers for the newly established Maritime Safety Agency following the dissolution of the Imperial Japanese Navy by Allied forces.

The Japan Coast Guard Museum is also located on the JCGA campus, containing approximately 1,000 items, such as photographs of historic patrol boats, ship models, and artifacts from the Battle of Amami-Oshima (2001).

[1] JCGA has been featured in several Japanese film and television shows including Keisuke Kinoshita's Big Joys, Small Sorrows (1986), and the Umizaru franchise, based on the popular manga by Shuho Sato.