Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Japan may use its navy to protect commercial vessels from pirates in waters off Somalia, Nikkei English News reported, without citing anyone.

A bill allowing the Maritime Self-Defense Force to conduct operations may be submitted to parliament early next year, the report said.

Japan's navy would be charged with escorting oil tankers and commercial ships of all nationalities to prevent hijackings, the Nikkei said. The use of force in response to pirate attacks would be authorized, Nikkei said.

A Japanese-owned chemical tanker was seized by pirates in the Gulf of Aden, Japan's Foreign Ministry said this week. Pirate attacks climbed fivefold in the region in the first nine months of this year as ransom payments spurred raiders to seize more ships, according to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Kuala Lumpur.

To contact the reporter on this story: Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at tfujioka1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 18, 2008 19:39 EST