Zoom Up / Sea of Japan brings ghost ships to shore

A wooden boat found drifting is demolished on a beach in Sai, Aomori Prefecture, on Jan. 5. A packet of cigarettes with Hangul characters on it, a squid fishing hook and other items were found inside. The boat had been left on the beach for more than a week from the end of last year. The village government shouldered about 400,000 yen of the demolition costs in response to local residents' concerns. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

"It'd be impossible to go fishing in that small boat, wouldn't it?" a person related to a local fisheries cooperative muttered while watching a wooden boat be demolished on a beach in the village of Sai, Aomori Prefecture, on the morning of Jan. 5.

About 12 meters long and 3 meters wide, the wooden boat was found drifting off the coast at the end of last year and was pulled up onto the beach. There were four bodies in it, and a North Korean pin was also said to have been found.

One after another, wooden boats have washed ashore or been found drifting along the coast of the Sea of Japan. In most cases, the costs of demolishing them are shouldered by the central government.

Kiyotaka Moriya, 54, chief engineer of the Eiho Maru No. 38, clears away fishing equipment on the boat at Ogi Port in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 27 after finishing the season's operations. "The volume of squid catches is small. We can't enter the fishing ground where North Koreans conduct illegal fishing, and the sea is often rough. I feel like I'm out of luck all the time," Moriya said. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

There are some cases in which local governments bear the expense, but "it's not just a matter of cost," a village government official said. "Many people find it creepy."

According to the Japan Coast Guard, the number of such wooden boats, which are apparently registered in North Korea, reached 104 in 2017. This was a record high since statistics began to be recorded in 2013.

Ogi Port in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, is known for one of the largest hauls of surumeika squid in the country. On Dec. 27, a snowy day, the fishermen decided to give up even though it was the middle of the season, and began clearing away their equipment. The fishing season started in May last year and would have lasted until around February.

Surumeika squid are unloaded at Ogi Port in Noto, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Dec. 28. It was the last catch of the season. Squid at this port has a reputation for high quality, as each live squid is immediately frozen after being caught on the boats. However, members of the fishing industry, who were already troubled by such concerns as global warming, the aging of fishermen and surging fuel expenses, are now facing another concern over illegal fishing by North Korea. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

"I was able to catch fewer than one-third of the squid I had expected to catch. No matter how long we keep going out to fish, the costs will just be more [than our return]," Hidenobu Itaya, the captain of the fishing boat Eiho Maru No. 38, said angrily.

Around an area called Yamatotai, a good fishing ground within the nation's exclusive economic zone, illegal North Korean fishing boats without sufficient equipment approached Japanese boats, which were equipped with lights to lure squids, and conducted internationally banned drift-net fishing. This overfishing method is one of the causes of the drastic reduction in the squid population.

"If we stand by idly without taking any action, we'll lose this fishing ground where Japanese fishermen can operate," a representative at the Ogi branch of the Ishikawa Prefecture association of fisheries cooperatives said.

The wreckage of a wooden boat, along with life vests and other items, is buffeted by foamy water on the shore in Tsuruoka, Yamagata Prefecture, on Dec. 25. Four bodies were found near the bottom of the boat -- the only part that remained intact. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The cremated remains of bodies assumed to be North Koreans are temporarily placed at a temple in Oga, Akita Prefecture, on Jan. 5. During the two months to the end of last year, the cremated remains of 10 bodies were brought there. "Whether the dead are Japanese or North Koreans, I hope they will rest in peace. I feel sorry for the dead and that they cannot go home," a Buddhist priest said. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

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