2 dead after 2 protest boats with students aboard capsize in Okinawa

NAHA — A high school student and a ship skipper died Monday after two boats capsized in waters near a construction site for a controversial U.S. military base relocation in the Japanese island prefecture of Okinawa, according to a regional coast guard.

The boats were carrying 18 students of the Doshisha International Junior and Senior High School in Kyoto Prefecture as part of its peace education curriculum, in addition to three crew.

The boats -- a 7.6-meter-long one and a 6.3-meter-long one -- have been used by protestors against the construction of a replacement facility for the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in the Henoko coastal area. The students had gone offshore to see the relocation work.

A 17-year-old student from Kyoto Prefecture, identified as Tomoka Takeishi, who had been aboard the larger boat, was confirmed dead, the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters said. The 71-year-old captain of the smaller boat, Hajime Kanai, also died.

Two others were injured, said first responders and other sources.

According to the school, around 270 students were visiting Okinawa from Saturday through Tuesday, of whom 18 participated in the so-called Henoko course.

Although the weather was clear, a high surf advisory had been issued at the time of the accident in waters 1,540 meters away from the tip of the Henoko area. The two boats appear to have been overturned by a huge wave, the coast guard said.

"It was a tragic accident. I am heartbroken," Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki told reporters.

Takeishi was on the boat along with nine other students and two crew, while the other one was carrying eight students and Kanai. No teachers were aboard either of them.

They were sailing the same route and capsized two minutes apart.

The coast guard confirmed that 20 people were wearing life jackets and is checking whether Kanai was wearing one as well.

The group operating the two boats expressed their deep regret for the "terrible accident that led to the death of two people." Kanai was said to have been an experienced skipper.

The group has campaigned against the planned transfer of the Futenma base from a crowded residential district in Ginowan to the less populated Henoko coastal area of Nago in the same prefecture.

The relocation is intended to remove the dangers posed by the Futenma base. But many people in Okinawa, which hosts the bulk of U.S. military facilities in Japan, have called for the Futenma base to be removed from the prefecture altogether.

The central government explained that the accident site was outside the off-limit area.

A small coast guard boat that was investigating the accident also capsized, and six crew on board were rescued.

Okinawa, the site of a fierce World War II ground battle between Japan and the United States and still bearing the legacy of U.S. occupation after the war, is a popular destination for school trips, in many cases to learn about the importance of peace.

© KYODO