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Four abandoned small wooden boats were found washed ashore off Aomori Prefecture and Hokkaido over the weekend. Japan Coast Guard officials said there was no one on any of the boats which are believed to have come from North Korea.
On Sunday morning, one boat was found drifting 500 meters off Kurosake Port in Fukaya, Aomori Prefecture, Fuji TV reported. The boat had Hangul characters on it. On Sunday afternoon, another wooden boat was found off the coast off Wakanai, Hokkaido.
The Japan Coast Guard said two other wooden boats had been spotted off Rebun Island and Obira, Hokkaido. There was no trace of crew members on any of the boats, the coast guard said.
The latest discoveries are the ninth time this year that boats believed to have come from North Korea have been found off the coast of Japan.
© Japan Today
6 Comments
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sensei258
maybe they're just looking for a better life like that Caravan of illegal immigrants heading for America
Jeff Huffman
rgcivilian1Nov. 12 06:19 pm JST hmmm, so much for the defenses of either the US . . .
Wasn't aware that the U.S. Coast Guard is tasked with patrolling Japan's territorial waters.
nandakandamanda
Sadly the chances are strong that the crews all died on the cold seas.
Meiyouwenti
Japan should tighten security on its coastlines. Those on board the abandoned boats could have been North Korean spies who have now successfully infiltrated into Japan. They could be walking the streets in Tokyo and Osaka or sitting right next to you on the train.
englisc aspyrgend
I must admit it makes me wonder given the number and proximity to land whether they came ashore either as spy’s or more likely desperately seeking to escape?
rgcivilian1
hmmm, so much for the defenses of either the US or Japan. Probably full bellies in some NK protected spy home.