HOKKAIDO: Families of the Kazu I boat sinking victims continue to live in distress three months after the tragedy took place off the Shiretoko Peninsula in the northernmost Japan prefecture of Hokkaido.

The tour boat, operated by Shiretoko Yuransen in the Hokkaido town of Shari, sank on April 23, leaving 14 of the 26 people aboard dead and the 12 others missing.

“I still live in agony. I want to have the lives back,” a Hokkaido resident who lost his young relative in the accident said in tears.

The man voiced his outrage at not only the company but also the transport ministry, which is in charge of supervising the tour boat operator. “There could have been many opportunities to prevent the accident. I feel that everything was done too late.”

“I’m so sad that I’m about to have a mental breakdown,” the man said.

Many people have laid flowers at an altar set up in front of the Shari town government building.

Kenichi Matsuda, 71, who runs a local guest house, offered flowers on Saturday so as not to forget the tragedy. “It’s painful that innocent people who just came to enjoy themselves got involved in the accident. I’m really angry at the boat operator,” he said.

“There are still people missing, and the families of the passengers continue to live in distress, not knowing what the future holds,” said Yasushi Masuda, head of the Shari town government’s general affairs division.

Masuda has been responding to the accident since immediately after it happened. “I also feel responsible for the accident taking place in the town. It’s our mission to work on creating a safe tourist destination,” he said.

After the sinking of the Kazu I, two bodies apparently of people aboard the vessel were found on Kunashiri, one of the four Russian-held islands claimed by Japan, and one such body was discovered on the Russian Far East island of Sakhalin.

Despite Japan’s request, Russia has not yet handed over the bodies, with related adjustments between the two countries having run into difficulties. The Japanese and Russian governments are continuing talks on the matter.

JIJI Press