A Japanese fishing boat captain arrested in August by Russian coast guard officials who fatally shot one of his crew members was released and returned home after being convicted and fined in Russia for poaching, officials said.
Japanese Transport Minister Tetsuzo Fuyushiba said Japan would demand that Russia also hand over the man's fishing boat to investigate the shooting, which took place in waters claimed by both countries and sparked recriminations from both sides.
"There is a possibility that bullet holes and other evidence may be left on the boat, which would be crucial evidence to get the clear picture of the shooting," Fuyushiba said.
"We will continue to ask Russia to return the boat through diplomatic channels," he added.
Noboru Sakashita was handed over yesterday on a Japanese boat in northern waters between the two countries and returned to Nemuro on Japan's northernmost island prefecture of Hokkaido hours later, a foreign ministry spokesman said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol.
Both countries maintained that Sakashita's boat was in their own territorial waters when Russian guards opened fire on Aug. 16, killing one of the fisherman on board.
Russian officials said their coast guard fired a warning shot after the fishing boat failed to heed orders to halt, and that the shot accidentally killed the fisherman.
Russia released the two other crewmen in late August but held Sakashita for prosecution, accusing him of poaching and illegally crossing an international border.
Moscow complained in the wake of the shooting of repeated violations of Russian waters by Japanese fishing trawlers despite several appeals. Tokyo protested Russia's response as too extreme and demanded that the officials responsible for the shooting be punished.
A Russian court last month convicted Sakashita of poaching and fined him over 500,000 rubles (US$18,750), Japanese officials said.
Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Hakubun Shimomura said the Japanese Coast Guard and ministry officials were to question the captain over the incident.
"The government will respond after hearing the situation," Shimomura said.
"In order for the government to prevent the recurrence of such an incident, we will consider measures after hearing the situation from him," he said.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
RSS