In an exchange of diplomatic notes signed jointly at the Department of Commerce on February 12, 2004, Japan and the United States agreed that the U.S. owns the historic sunken Japanese midget submarine located deep off the entrance of Pearl Harbor. In partnership with the National Park Service, NOAA is playing a key role in the protection and management of the Japanese midget submarine pursuant to U.S. policy on sunken vessels and historic preservation laws. The International Section has played an instrumental role in the development of the U.S.–Japanese agreement on the Japanese midget submarine as well as the implementing management plan because of the office's expertise in international and domestic law regarding historic shipwrecks. Consistent with the U.S. — Japanese Agreement and the U.S. Federal Archaeological Program, there are currently no plans to salvage the Japanese midget submarine. Instead the preferred approach in the Agreement and in the federal cooperative management plan is for preservation in place.

Additional reference information: 

• Agreement between United States and Japan (February 12, 2004)
• Federal Archeological Program, 36 CFR Part 79
• NOAA Report, "NOAA to Protect Historic Sunken Japanese Mini-Sub" (April 2004)
• Preserve America Initiative, "NOAA's Heritage Success Stories: Protecting a Piece of World War II History" (May 9, 2005)
• Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory offsite link, School of Ocean and Earth Sciences and Technology. Wiltshire, John C. "The Search for the World War II Japanese Midget Submarine Sunk off Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941" (December 20, 2003)
• Naval Historical Center, "Type A, B & C Midget Submarines — Japanese Type A Midget Submarines used in the attack on Pearl Harbor"(February 22, 2000)
• National Park Service, Submerged Resources Center, "Pearl Harbor — Japanese Midget Submarine" (Accessed on: April 15, 2008)
• Tilburg, Hans Van offsite link. Japanese Midget Sub at Pearl Harbor: Collaborative Maritime Heritage Preservation. In: Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk.
• NOAA Magazine, "NOAA Reports Discovery of Japanese World War II Submarine. Routine Dive Turns into Historical Event for NOAA Safety Officer"(August 29, 2002)