The Kushiro District Court is seen in Kushiro, Hokkaido, in this Nov. 12, 2025, file photo. (Mainichi/Yukika Wada)
KUSHIRO, Hokkaido — The president of the operator of a sightseeing boat that sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido in 2022, leaving all 26 passengers and crew members dead or missing, repeatedly said, “I’m sorry,” during a court hearing here on March 4.
Seiichi Katsurada, 62, president of Shiretoko Yuransen, stood trial at the Kushiro District Court in Kushiro, Hokkaido, as six family members of the victims angrily questioned the defendant over issues including where responsibility lies for the accident involving the Kazu I tour boat. The defendant is accused of causing death through negligence in the pursuit of social activities.
A man whose then 7-year-old son and former wife were caught up in the incident asked Katsurada, “How many children do you have?” to which the defendant replied, “Three.” The man tearfully said, “How would you react to the fact that your child dies before yourself? Have you ever imagined that?” The defendant responded weakly that he would react with “a sense of loss over someone who’s gone and can never be brought back.”
Seiichi Katsurada, president of Shiretoko Yuransen, bows to reporters as he arrives at the Kushiro District Court in Kushiro, Hokkaido, on March 2, 2026. (Mainichi/Takumi Taniguchi)
The 67-year-old father of Michio Koyanagi, a then 34-year-old passenger who remains missing, attended the hearing while wearing his son’s green jacket that was found in the vessel following the accident and a picture of him in his pocket. “Look over here. This down jacket was found in the backpack of my son, who has not returned.” The defendant appeared surprised to hear that.
The father pointed out to Katsurada, “You said, ‘We always turn back when the sea becomes rough and a customer requested to return while vomiting.’ Leaving the decision to turn back to customers amounts to abandoning responsibility.” The defendant, in response, offered an apology. The father raised his voice, saying, “We’ve suffered so much damage. Lives have been lost.”
The younger brother of Yoshimichi Ito, then 51, who was Koyanagi’s work senior, pressed the defendant, saying, “Don’t you think our families would have been alive if the defendant had given different instructions (regarding the boat’s operations)?” The defendant could only reply, “That might have been the case.”
Yoshimichi Ito, left, who died in the tour boat accident off the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, and his subordinate, Michio Koyanagi, who remains missing, are seen in this family-provided photo.
When a woman asked the defendant what had come to his mind right after the accident, he replied, “I hoped the boat would be found,” adding that when the Kazu I was salvaged from the seabed, “I didn’t want to accept (the accident). Part of me was running away. I realized it was reality.” When the woman tearfully asked, “Why did my family have to die?” the defendant remained silent for about 15 seconds before stating, “I can never apologize enough for that.”
The closing arguments in the trial are scheduled for April, with a ruling set for June.
(Japanese original by Takumi Taniguchi, Hokkaido News Department)
AloJapan.com