Japan probes corpse-filled ships drifting off coast
Print Edition
They drift into seas near Japan by the dozens every year, ghostly ships thought to come from impoverished North Korea.
Japanese authorities said yesterday they are investigating about a dozen boats carrying decaying bodies that were found off the country’s northwestern coast over the past month.
In most cases, the bodies are in such bad shape that it’s been impossible to determine their cause of death, officials say.
Coast guard officials said at least 11 shoddy fishing boats carrying the bodies have arrived since late October.
The officials said they could not say for certain, but the poor condition and small size of the vessels are not typical of South Korea or Japan, said coast guard spokesman Yoshiaki Hiroto, adding that evidence points to the Korean Peninsula.
The recent spate of arrivals has drawn attention.
So far this year, 34 mystery boats have drifted over. Last year, Japan found 65 of them. In 2013, there were 80.
The number tends to rise during the fall and winter season due to stronger winds from the northwest, Hiroto said.
In recent years, fishermen from food-short North Korea have increasingly forayed into Japanese waters hunting squid, and some of the boats found adrift have been carrying squid-catching equipment. They are usually ordered away when caught by the Japanese coast guard.
Sometimes, disabled North Korean ships are rescued and repatriated along with their crews. In other cases, fishermen used their ships to defect.
The history of such drifting arrivals goes back centuries, according to historical accounts.
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