Criminal Complaint Filed against Capsized Boat’s Deceased Captain

Tokyo, May 22 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s transport ministry filed a criminal complaint Friday against a deceased man for allegedly operating an unregistered boat that capsized off Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, in March. The complaint was filed with the Japan Coast Guard and submitted to the coast guard’s Nakagusuku Coast Guard Office in the prefecture through the Cabinet Office’s Okinawa General Bureau. In the accident, two small boats capsized off the Henoko district in the Okinawa city of Nago on the morning of March 16, leading to the deaths of the man, Hajime Kanai, 71, who was captain of one of the boats, and a 17-year-old female student from Doshisha International Senior High School in Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, who was on the other boat. Kanai allegedly violated the marine transportation law. It has been found that Kanai had transported students six times at the request of the school since 2023, receiving compensation each time. The ministry therefore determined that the boats’ operations should have been registered as a business. Under the law, those operating unscheduled passenger services using small ships with a capacity of up to 12 must register with the government. The need for registration is judged based on whether the service caters to others’ needs and whether it is offered repeatedly and ongoing. Unregistered business operators would face penalties, including jail of up to one year. The two boats were operated by a group opposing the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in the Okinawa city of Ginowan to the Henoko district. The group claimed that the transport of students has been conducted on a volunteer basis, rather than as a business, and therefore has not been registered with the government. Meanwhile, the high school has said it paid a total of 15,000 yen for the latest use of the boats. Transport minister Yasushi Kaneko said at a press conference Friday, “We will continue necessary reviews to prevent future accidents involving unregistered ships.” A total of 18 students from the high school on a peace studies trip and some crew members were on board the two boats, and 14 people, including 12 students, suffered injuries in the accident. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]