Japan calls for release of fishing boat, crew detained by Russia

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - Japan on Thursday called on Russia to “immediately release” its detained boat and the crew on board, local media reported.

Speaking at a news conference, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said the Japanese government has lodged protest with Moscow over the move, terming it “unacceptable”, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported.

The incident happened last Friday off Japan's northern island of Hokkaido when Moscow claimed that 160-ton Eiho Maru No. 172 vessel was illegally fishing in Russia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

However, Japan’s fishery cooperative based in Wakkanai city rejected the claim, with officials saying the fishing boat was “operating in Japan’s EEZ”.

The detained vessel was docked at the port town of Korsakov on the island of Sakhalin.

Kato said: “They (crew) are in good condition and have access to food, water and fuel.”

Russia border forces had fired what is being speculated as tear gas before the crew was detained.

The incident came days after three Japanese fishermen were killed after their boat collided with a Russian vessel in the Sea of Okhotsk last Wednesday.

The Sea of Okhotsk is located between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the south.

Eight people were on board their 9.7-ton boat, Daihachi Hokkoumaru, which collided with the 662-ton Russian ship, AMUR. The boat subsequently capsized.

Ever since the end of the World War II, Japan and Russia could not sign a peace treaty mainly due to a dispute over the sovereignty of four Russian-held islands – Kunashiri, Etorofu, Habomai, and Shikotan – off Japan’s Hokkaido province.