Ordeal over

Forgive my ignorance, but do they look fit for diving? I am not a diver, but I would think diving in open sea would requires some minimum physical fitness.

Clearly they are not only fit for diving, but fit for survival in open waters for days at a time too! Many fitter individuals may have perished under those conditions.

Lucky and young. The diver whose body was found was by far the oldest of the group, and that's probably not a coincidence.

If the current pushed her in the same direction as these 5 and she had a reef to hold on to, it wouldn't matter that she is old enough to be your great great grandmother. Go find some other 59 year olds and let us know how brittle they look.

The media could spare them and us that interview. I hope they recover from the trauma.

do they look fit for diving?

Fit is not a look. They have proven they were fit to survive 4 days in the see.

Well put @Fredster

Why are they looking so shameful? Ladies, the tragedy of two losing their lives apart, you are survivors against great odds.

It's called "Survivor's Guilt" and it is more than common in all cultures - - there can be a terrible shame, especially amongst friends and companions, when one survives and others are lost. They may be happy to have survived but ashamed because they are happy that they did...

when I heard "Japanese female scuba divers" my imagination was very different.

very lucky ladies indeed

Lucky and young. The diver whose body was found was by far the oldest of the group, and that's probably not a coincidence.

I think they look sad. I know I would.

As for fitness, my 72 year old mother-in-law swims laps daily at the local pool. I'm pretty fit yet can swim about 25 meters.

Roughneck, being fit is a plus, but not a necessity for scuba diving. HOWEVER, survival for several days under those conditions is a damn tough physical and mental test.

Why are they looking so shameful? Ladies, the tragedy of two losing their lives apart, you are survivors against great odds. You have nothing to apologise about so please don't say sorry for al the trouble you people through. I am celebrating you surviving and being alive.

Bravo, Bravo, Bravo!......hail the scuba divers. It took courage to explore. It takes a women to even need more courage to be accepted as equals. They have proven themselves....condolences to those still missing..

@ roughneck Scuba diving is safe for everyone, even if you are unfit or handicalf. You just have to stay calm and control your breathing. I read that someone even trained his dog to do scuba diving with him. The picture showing four tiring ladies does not do justice as they survived on water only for 3-4 days. The ladies here remind me of Japan's ama divers, those old women who dive for a living. Don't underestimate them. Please don't forget one lady is still out there missing. Although the chance is slim with many days pass, I hope she is still alive.

these poor souls are going to be put through the wringer by the mass media when they return to Japan.

You can say that again. This is going to follow them for the rest of their lives.

There was a Japanese survivor of the Titanic, and they NEVER let him forget it.

Ordeal Over

Perhaps not the best headline. As Maria hints, these poor souls are going to be put through the wringer by the mass media when they return to Japan. There of course will be a short hiatus in consideration of the dead, but the gutter press probably already smell blood in the water.

The other interesting issue in all this is the Balinese response. Although the local authorities have bent over backwards thus far, I don't how the Japanese media will deal with the fact that the search is going to be called off in the near future.

Condolences for the dead.

Forgive my ignorance, but do they look fit for diving? I am not a diver, but I would think diving in open sea would requires some minimum physical fitness.

Are they going to be made to apologise when they get back? Poor things.

Lucky to be alive, RIP to their two friends