JCG Searches High School after Fatal Accident in Okinawa

Naha, Okinawa Pref., July 28 (Jiji Press)–The Japan Coast Guard searched Doshisha International Senior High School on Saturday following the fatal capsizing of two small boats used in a school study trip in Okinawa Prefecture, the school operator said Tuesday. The JCG’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, the capital of the southernmost prefecture, raided the high school in the city of Kyotanabe, Kyoto Prefecture, western Japan, on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death. In the March 16 accident, Hajime Kanai, 71, the captain of one of the boats, and a 17-year-old female student of the school died. The bereaved family has filed a criminal complaint against school officials, according to informed sources. The school operator said in a statement that it takes the matter seriously and will fully cooperate with requests from authorities. It apologized for causing great concern and inconvenience to those involved. The JCG will investigate the accident by analyzing documents seized in the search and other information. The two boats were carrying 18 students visiting on a peace education trip and three crew members when they capsized off the Henoko coastal area of the Okinawa city of Nago, where construction to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station in Ginowan, also Okinawa, is underway. The 11th regional headquarters searched the office of the civic organization that operated the boats March 20. The transport ministry filed a criminal complaint against Kanai in May on suspicion of violating the marine transportation law. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]