Hokkaido Boat Operator Head Pleads Not Guilty over Fatal Sinking

Kushiro, Hokkaido, Nov. 12 (Jiji Press)–Seiichi Katsurada, president of the operator of a tour boat that sank off the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido in 2022, pleaded not guilty to professional negligence resulting in death in the first hearing of his criminal trial Wednesday. At Kushiro District Court, the 62-year-old president of Shiretoko Yuransen based in the Hokkaido town of Shari, apologized to the bereaved families but said: “The captain told me, ‘We’ll turn back before the weather worsens,’ so I thought it would be fine and decided to let the boat depart. I don’t know if the crime written in the indictment will be established.” Lawyers for the defendant said that there was no negligence on his part as he could not predict the sinking of the Kazu I tour boat off the Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido, which left 20 passengers and crew members dead and six others still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, Katsurada also said during the first hearing: “As the company’s president, I take seriously the fact that I could not prevent the accident. I will sincerely explain everything I need to say.” He then bowed deeply to the families of the boat’s passengers seated in the gallery before returning to his seat. It is rare for a company manager not directly involved in steering ships to face criminal charges for a maritime accident. In a total of 12 hearings scheduled, the focus will be on whether the accident was foreseeable given the expected bad weather and whether the decision to operate the tour boat was appropriate. A sentence is set to be handed down on June 17 next year. In its opening statement, the prosecution argued, “If it is possible to recognize that the anticipated weather conditions during navigation exceed operational standards and pose a risk of fatal or injury accidents, the foreseeability (of the accident) can be acknowledged.” “The nature of the negligence in the accident and the resulting damage were severe, and the overall business operations (of the boat operator) were sloppy,” the prosecution also said. In response, the defense pointed out that a government-commissioned inspection agency had overlooked the bow deck hatch’s failure to close, which was cited as the cause of the sinking. It argued that the defendant was unaware of this issue and that the accident was unforeseeable as the captain who died in the accident had unilaterally decided the navigation course. According to the indictment, Katsurada failed to instruct Kazu I’s captain to halt operation despite being able to foresee the possibility of a fatal accident due to anticipated wind speeds and wave heights exceeding operational safety standards, causing the deaths of 26 individuals. The president was arrested in September last year and indicted the following month. He was later released on bail. When he arrived at Kushiro District Court on Wednesday morning, Katsurada did not respond to reporters but turned around and bowed before entering the courthouse through the main entrance. The president previously apologized to bereaved families in person just once, at a meeting soon after the accident. Since then, he has released apologetic statements but avoided directly expressing regret to the families. At the first hearing of a damages lawsuit filed by the families of victims at Sapporo District Court, held in March, Katsurada appeared in court but did not speak, instead having his lawyer argue that he is not at fault. He later released a statement through his lawyer that he “took the contents of (the families’) statements very seriously,” and that he will “continue to apologize, make amends and pray for the victims.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]