Footage shown of illegal fishing by N.Korean boats

Dec 16, 2017 | News On Japan

Dec 16, 2017 (NHK) - Japan's Coast Guard has released video footage of North Korean boats illegally fishing in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

The video clips shown on Friday were taken in September and November in a fishing ground known as Yamatotai off the Noto Peninsula on the Sea of Japan coast.

The Coast Guard has been stepping up patrols in the area since July. North Korean boats began to appear there several years ago to illegally fish for squid.

In footage taken in September, a Coast Guard patrol vessel repeatedly warns a North Korean boat sailing through high waves.

Another video image shows a patrol vessel firing water cannons at a boat that does not respond to its warnings. A crewmember is seen pulling up an anchor.

Coast Guard officials say the boat in the video is made of steel and is about 30 to 40 meters in length. But they say many North Korean fishing boats are made of wood and around 10 meters long.

The ocean often becomes rough and turbulent around the fishing ground in winter, making operations difficult for small fishing boats.

Coast Guard officials say that since late November there have been few North Korean boats spotted in the area. But they say in the past, some boats that initially left the area after receiving warnings or being targeted by water cannons subsequently returned.

Source: a

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.