KYOTO (TR) – The education ministry has launched an on-site investigation into the educational corporation Doshisha following a fatal boat capsizing in Okinawa Prefecture last month that claimed the lives of a student and a captain.
Fuji News Network (Apr. 24) recently revealed harrowing new details about the immediate aftermath of the capsize. According to the Japan Coast Guard, the frantic emergency calls were made entirely by the students themselves, with no reports coming from the captain or the crew members.
On March 16, two small vessels — the Heiwa Maru and the Fukutsu — carrying 21 people, including students from Doshisha International High School, capsized off Nago City.
The disaster claimed the lives of 17-year-old student Tomoka Takeishi and the 71-year-old captain of the Fukutsu, Hajime Kanai. The vessels were being operated by a group protesting the relocation of U.S. military bases to Henoko.
Over a dozen others were thrown into the sea.
At 10:14 a.m., a student dialed the emergency maritime number, though static prevented clear communication. Two minutes later, another student reported: “We were participating in a Henoko boat tour, but our boat was swallowed by a large wave and everyone was thrown overboard.”
In a desperate plea to the operators, one student asked, “I am currently standing in a shallow place where my feet touch the ground, what should I do?” Other students reportedly asked if they should attempt to swim to a nearby island. The teachers accompanying the trip were waiting on land and were not aboard the vessels.
Investigations have highlighted severe lapses in safety management. The boats were operated by the Anti-Helicopter Base Council, a civic group protesting the U.S. military base relocation. The group has been linked to at least 10 accidents and maritime violations since 2014, and the vessels involved were not registered as passenger boats under the Maritime Transport Act.
The high school has come under heavy fire for failing to verify the safety and legal registration of the vessels before allowing students on board.
Professional negligence
On April 24, officials from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) entered Doshisha’s headquarters in Kyoto to conduct a direct probe into the school’s safety protocols and educational activities.
Meanwhile, the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters is continuing its criminal investigation into the incident on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, as well as violations of the Maritime Transport Act.
Takeishi’s grieving father recently took to social media, questioning why the school allowed the students to board the protest vessels and demanding a thorough review of the institution’s “peace education” practices.
“I am at a loss for words at the school’s sense of abandoning their responsibility to guide the students on site,” he wrote. “Why is she dead? Wake up, Chika.”
