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Navy destroyer plows into fishing boat, two missing

The bow of a fishing boat is seen drifting in the sea in a handout photo by the Japan Coast Guard. A Japanese destroyer collided with the boat, splitting the vessel into two, off the Pacific coast yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

A Japanese navy destroyer equipped with advanced radar plowed into a fishing boat off the Pacific coast yesterday, splitting the boat in two and plunging two fishermen into the chilly waters. The men remained missing.

The coast guard and navy deployed 10 ships, including the destroyer, and six helicopters to search the waters off the coast of Chiba, near Tokyo, for the two men, said Keiji Oba, a regional coast guard official.

The crash, the cause of which was not immediately known, drew high-profile attention in Japan, where many people harbor pacifist sentiments and remain sensitive to anything related to the military.

"It is extremely regrettable something like this has happened," said Japanese Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba. "We must do all we can to search for and save the missing men and find out what caused it as soon as possible."

"An accident like this should never happen," Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda told parliament. "We have to take measures to prevent a recurrence."

The destroyer, Atago, is the latest version equipped with the AEGIS advanced missile defense system. The ship, delivered to the navy last spring, was on its way to Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, following equipment tests in Hawaii, according to the navy.

TV footage showed the two halves of the 15m fishing boat floating in the ocean. Rescue divers searched the remains of the boat but did not find the fishermen, said Koichiro Maeda, another coast guard official.

The 7,700-tonne destroyer did not suffer any serious damage, although TV footage showed scratches on its hull.

The two missing fishermen were identified as Haruo Kichisei, 58, and his son Tetsuhiro Kichisei, 23, the coast guard said.

The opposition Democratic Party's top point person on defence said the party wanted an explanation of the incident from authorities, including why the destroyer's crew and defensive radar had not seen the fishing boat.

"This radar system should be better than any other ship's," lawmaker Keiichiro Asao said.

"If they were not aware of the fishing boat, they could be attacked by any terrorists," Asao said.

The defense minister complained about the navy's crisis management, saying that it was slow to report the case. The navy reported the collision to the Coast Guard at 4:23am yesterday, but news of the accident did not reach Ishiba for another 75 minutes.

In 1988, a sports fishing boat was rammed by a Japanese navy submarine, killing 30 people.

In 2001, a US navy submarine crashed into and sank a Japanese fishing boat off Hawaii, killing nine of the 35 high school students, teachers and crew aboard the vessel. The accident triggered outrage in Japan.
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