Russia plans to release the captain of one of four Japanese fishing boats seized in disputed waters last week because of his poor health, said Japan's Foreign Ministry.
Russian authorities informed Japan through its consulate in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk that they would free Toshigemi Fujimoto. A Japanese Coast Guard ship will be dispatched from the port of Nemuro in northern Japan to pick up Fujimoto, who suffers from an unspecified chronic ailment. The Russian border guard detained four boats last Thursday off the northern coast of Kunashiri Island, one of four islands claimed by both countries. The boats' exact location and activities at the time of their capture have remained unclear. Russian authorities have frequently seized Japanese boats in recent months as they have stepped up patrols in and around the area. Last August, Russian patrol boats fatally shot a Japanese angler and seized a vessel in the disputed northern waters, escalating tensions between the two nations.
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