Japan's fisheries sector comprises coastal, offshore, distant water, and inland water fisheries (Makino, 2011, 2013). Coastal fisheries, which can be conceptualized as closed-access complex CPRs, have undergone a series of changes over time. They moved from a community-based management system in the Edo period (1603–1868) to a failed government system in the early Meiji period (1868–1901). In the second half of the 19th century, the state attempted to modernize the management of coastal fisheries by seizing control of the seas but the effort failed because of strong disagreements by the locals (Murota, 2013). In the late Meiji period (1901–1912), coastal fisheries evolved into the community-based management system seen today.