Naha, Okinawa Pref., Oct. 28 (Jiji Press)–The father of a high school student who died in a fatal boat accident off the coast of Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, in March has met with representatives of the vessel operator. The father disclosed details of the meeting on the online publishing platform “note.” According to the father, the meeting took place in Naha, the capital of the southernmost Japan prefecture, on Oct. 18 and was attended by two co-representatives of the boat operator, the father and lawyers from both sides. On March 16, two small boats capsized off the Henoko district of Nago during a school trip organized by Doshisha International Senior High School. The accident claimed the lives of Hajime Kanai, 71, captain of one of the boats, and Tomoka Takeishi, a 17-year-old second-year student of the high school aboard the other vessel. According to the father’s post, when asked about the operator’s past boarding programs and how it came to be involved with the school, the representatives said they did not know. Shortly before the meeting ended, one of the co-representatives said that the boat operator “will take another look at the accident as an organization,” the father wrote. He added that the operator “has made little progress in reviewing the accident as an organization.” Takeishi’s parents visited Okinawa from Oct. 17 to 19, placing flowers at a beach near the site of the accident and meeting with Okinawa Governor Genta Koja. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
