TOKYO (AP) – The head of the company that operated a tourist boat that sank off northern Japan with 26 people aboard said Wednesday he approved the trip
The president of the company that operated the tourist boat that went missing off the coast of Hokkaido in northern Japan held a news conference on April 27, speaking in public for the first time since the deadly accident.
A tourist boat that went missing six days ago off Hokkaido was found underwater on Friday, the Japan Coast Guard said, as 12 of the 26 people aboard remained unaccounted for.
The president of a pleasure boat company embroiled in a tragedy at sea off eastern Hokkaido admitted that in hindsight it was a mistake to have allowed one of its boats to embark on a cruise off the Shiretoko Peninsula last weekend with 26 people on board.
Transport minister Tetsuo Saito has criticized a tour boat operator in Hokkaido for having repeatedly sailed even on days when bad weather was forecast.