How the design principles explain user self-governance in a setting with an explicit state role has not been addressed substantially in the CPR literature. This article investigates present-day management of community-based coastal fisheries in the Japanese context to address the issue. From the perspective of fisheries management practices in Japan, our findings suggest that the design principles can be applied to a case in which the state plays a strategically explicit role to promote
pro-user self-governance regime within its formal setting.