Russian patrol boat opens fire on Japanese vessel, killing 1

TOKYO -- Japan launched strong protest to Russia yesterday after a Russian patrol boat opened fire on a Japanese vessel, killing a fisherman in the latest flare-up of a territorial dispute between the neighboring nations.

The crab fisherman was shot and killed near Kaigara Island, one of several islands off the northeast tip of Hokkaido that are administered by Russia and claimed by Japan. Russia's regional border patrol said he suffered a ``fatal shot in the head."

Japan insisted the boat was in Japanese waters, called the act ``unacceptable," and demanded immediate compensation and release of the boat and surviving crew.

``There has been a loss of life, and the situation is grave. Japan demands an immediate apology," Foreign Minister Taro Aso told reporters after a tense meeting with Russian deputy ambassador Mikhail Galuzin in Tokyo.

Russian officials expressed ``regret" over the death but defended the patrol boat's actions, saying the Japanese ship had violated Russian waters and authorities acted within their powers.

The responsibility for the shootings lay ``with the direct culprits and . . . with Japanese authorities that close their eyes to fishermen's poaching in Russian territorial waters," Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russian officials said the man, identified by Japanese media as Mitsuhiro Morita, 35, was killed by a warning shot.

``They were not aiming [to kill]," Galuzin said.

The three surviving crew members, who were not injured, were taken to a nearby island for questioning and will face criminal charges, according to national broadcaster NHK. The three have admitted they were fishing illegally, NHK said, citing Russian investigators.

The four islands, called the Kurils in Russia and the Northern Territories by Japan, were seized by the Soviet Army near the end of World War II . Tokyo has demanded their return, and the dispute has blocked a treaty formally ending wartime hostilities.

The islands are surrounded by rich fishing waters and are believed to have promising offshore oil and natural gas reserves, in addition to gold and silver deposits.

While Russian authorities have seized dozens of Japanese boats and injured several fishermen over the years, this was the first shooting death of a Japanese in the region since October 1956, Coast Guard officials said.