In April 2022, in an accident in which a sightseeing boat sank off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, the bereaved family of the deceased deckhand demanded compensation from the government for insufficient inspection of the ship.
In April 2022, 4 people were killed and 1 were missing in an accident in which the sightseeing boat "KAZU 20" sank off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido.
The parents of 6-year-old Kiyoshi Soyama, a deckhand who died in the accident, have filed a lawsuit seeking compensation of more than 27 million yen from the government, claiming that inspections conducted by the Japan Small Vessel Inspection Organization, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, were insufficient.
The trial began at the Tokyo District Court on the 1th, and the government submitted a letter requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed, showing a stance of full-scale fighting.
According to Makoto Murakami, a lawyer representing the parents, the government claims that the inspection was conducted by the Japan Small Vessel Inspection Organization and that the government is not responsible for compensation.
Mr. Murakami said, "The government claims that it does not know because it has been left to the inspection agencies, but it is the government that supervises the inspections and ensures the safe operation of sightseeing boats.
According to the parents' lawyers, this is the first time that the government has sought compensation for the accident.
On the other hand, Mr. Soyama's parents have filed a lawsuit against the company to hold them responsible.