A Russian court on Thursday imposed a fine of 250,000 rubles (about 1.1 million yen) on the skipper of a Japanese fishing boat for poaching crab in Japan's waters off Hokkaido in mid-August.
Noboru Sakashita, skipper of the crab boat Kisshin Maru No. 31, sits in district court on Russian-occupied Kunashiri Island on Thursday.
The district court on the Russian-occupied, Japan's island of Kunashiri also said the boat would be confiscated and ordered the skipper, Noboru Sakashita, 59, to pay an additional 246,000 rubles for damages caused to "Russia"'s marine resources
1apan's Senior Vice Foreign Minister Yasuhisa Shiozaki said that he cannot accept the confiscation of the boat.
"We have been consistently demanding the prompt release of the boat and the captain, and the Foreign Ministry will continue to make these demands," Shiozaki said at a news conference.
On Aug. 16, Russian border guards shot at and seized the boat in waters that Japan claims near the disputed Habomai islet group. One of the Japanese crewmen was killed in the shooting.
Sakashita and the two other crew members were taken into custody in Russia on suspicion of illegal fishing in "Russian" waters.
The dead crewman's body was returned to Japan shortly after the boat was seized, and the two other crewmen were handed back on Aug. 30.
Sakashita was indicted Sept. 4 on charges of "illegal border crossing" and poaching in "Russian" waters.
The long-standing territorial row between Japan and Russia over Kunashiri, the Habomai islets and two other islands off Hokkaido has prevented the countries from concluding a peace treaty to end World War II.
Source: Kyodo
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