Russia Wednesday released two Japanese fishermen held since
their boat was seized for allegedly fishing in Russian waters in an
incident in which one crewman was killed, a Japanese Foreign
Ministry official said.
The Russians handed over the fishermen Akiyoshi Kawamura and
Haruki Kamiya Wednesday afternoon, said Shunji Yamada, an official
in the Foreign Ministry's Russia bureau.
The handover took place after Russian and Japanese officials met
aboard a Japanese fisheries patrol boat near Kunashiri Island,
Yamada said. The two arrived at Nemuro port on Japan's northernmost
main island of Hokkaido later in the day.
"I'm very sorry to have caused a fuss," Kawamura said on a
nationally televized press conference following his return.
The captain, Noboru Sakashita, 59, who has reportedly assumed
all blame for his boat's alleged violation into Russian territory,
will remain in Russian custody for the time being, he said.
A Foreign Ministry official said he welcomed the return of the
two fishermen but urged Russia to return Sakashita.
"It's problematic the captain and the boat were not handed over.
We will continue to strongly make demands to Russia for their swift
release," ministry press officer Mitsuo Sakaba told reporters in
Tokyo.
On August 16, a Russian coast guard boat fired at the Japanese
vessel that was allegedly trespassing in Russian waters off
Hokkaido, killing a Japanese crab fisherman.
Russian authorities seized the fishing boat, along with its
captain and the two crew members.
The incident took place near the southernmost of four disputed
islands that are claimed both by Japan and Russia, called the
southern Kurils by Russia and the Northern Territories by
Japan.
(China Daily August 31, 2006)
