Jan 16 (tokyoreporter.com) - Eight corpses possibly belonging to North Korean nationals have been discovered aboard and near a wooden ship that washed ashore in Kanazawa City earlier this month, reports NHK (Jan. 16).
On Monday, Japan Coast Guard officials and officers from the Kanazawa-Nishi Police Station searched the vessel, which washed ashore in the Shimoyasuharamachi area on January 10, and found seven decayed bodies. Another male corpse was found on the beach.
The clothed bodies did not exhibit any external wounds. Given the stage of decay of the bodies, portions of which had turned skeletal, it is believed that all of the persons died some time ago, authorities said. Due to high waves, the search of the vessel was delayed until Monday.
Based on the style and construction of the 19-meter-long vessel, coast guard officials believe the ship is from the Korean peninsula, and very likely North Korea.
Police are now attempted to confirm the identity of the bodies and determine the causes of death. It is speculated that the body found on the shore came from the vessel.
Intensifying trend
The discovery is a continuation of a trend that intensified last year. Earlier this month, the coast guard revealed that a record 104 wooden vessels likely from North Korea washed shore in northern Japan last year. In 2016, the figure was 38.
