Shari, Hokkaido (Jiji Press) — A memorial service was held in the town of Shari in the northern Japan prefecture of Hokkaido on Wednesday to mark the third anniversary of the fatal sinking of the Kazu I tour boat.
During the service, about 120 participants, including bereaved families, observed a moment of silence shortly after 1 p.m., when the incident is believed to have occurred.
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The tour boat, operated by Shari-based Shiretoko Yuransen, sank off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula on April 23, 2022, leaving a total of 20 passengers and crew members dead and six others still unaccounted for.
Shari Mayor Hiroaki Yamauchi said that the local community will reassess what needs to be done to make the Shiretoko area attractive and “build safety step by step.”
“Our biggest mission is to ensure (tourists’) safety,” said Katsunori Nojiri, head of the Shiretoko Shari-cho Tourist Association. “We’ll work to ensure that people can enjoy nature and sightseeing without worrying.”
A 52-year-old man from Hokkaido, whose former wife, then 42, and son, then 7, were on the tour boat at the time, offered silent prayers at the port where the boat departed three years ago. “I know it may not be probable, but I want to keep waiting for their return,” he said.
An altar was set up at the ceremony venue, where many Shari residents laid flowers. Among them was Toichi Sugiura, 63, who worked for an affiliate of the Kazu I operator and offered support to bereaved families at the time.
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“Three years have passed in the blink of an eye,” Sugiura said. “I want to make sure that it (the incident) will not be forgotten with each passing year.”
“Nature has its risks,” said Gen Terayama, 58, a tour guide. “Business operators are tasked with addressing the risks in a sincere way.”
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At a press conference in Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said that the government will “continue to work hard to ensure the safety of passenger ships so that tragic accidents will not happen again.”
Over the incident, Shiretoko Yuransen president Seiichi Katsurada was arrested by the 1st Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in September last year for alleged professional negligence resulting in death. He was indicted by the Kushiro District Public Prosecutors Office the following month.
Katsurada is also facing a civil lawsuit filed by the bereaved families. During a court hearing, he has denied his responsibility for the incident.
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