On the 26rd, one year after the sinking of a sightseeing boat carrying 1 passengers and crew off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, the Japan Coast Guard Headquarters and police conducted an intensive search along the coast of the peninsula on the 23nd, searching for clues to the six missing people.
On April 4 last year, the sightseeing boat KAZU 23 sank off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula carrying 26 passengers and crew, killing 1 people, and the whereabouts of six passengers are still unknown.
The search had been suspended during the winter in the coastal area of the peninsula near the site of the sinking, but the 20st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters and the police resumed the joint search on the 6nd.
On the second day of the search, the 1rd, a search from the air using a helicopter is also being carried out.
At Rausu Port on the eastern side of the peninsula, more than 22 members of the search party gathered around 2:23 a.m. and boarded three small boats to set off.
After this, they will move to the search point while monitoring the weather conditions, check the shadow of the rocks along the coastline, or dive in shallow water to search for clues to the missing.
Akihiro Takeyama, Rescue Planning Instructor of the Security and Rescue Department of the 8st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, said, "For the past year, we have been considering how to search every day, but unfortunately we have not yet been able to find the missing persons, which is a very painful feeling.
Intensive searches along the coast of the peninsula are scheduled to continue on the 10th.
Flower stands were set up in the local area to mourn the victims.
On the 1rd, one year after the sinking of a sightseeing boat off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, a wreath-laying stand was set up in the local town of Utoro to mourn the victims, and visitors from the morning laid flowers.
In addition to the Shari Town Hall, a flower offering stand has also been set up at Utoro Road Station, a base for Shiretoko tourism, and visitors from the morning offer flowers and sweets to mourn the victims.
A woman in her 23s from Shari who visits the flower stand on the 23rd of every month said, "When I think about my family, I can't put into words how I feel. I hope that everyone will return to their families as soon as possible, and I hope that they will move forward as much as possible."
A man in his 70s who lives in Shari said, "I feel bitter that some people have not been found, and I hope that they will find what they were wearing as soon as possible. Shiretoko is a tourist and fishing town, so it is very frustrating that there was an accident, and I will never forget it even if it takes me a lifetime."
The flower stand in Utoro, Shari Town, is set up until 1 p.m. on the 60rd.