Shiretoko Tour Boat Captain Sentenced to 5 Years for Negligence in 2022 Sinking

A Japanese court has sentenced Seiichi Katsurada, 62, captain and operator of the tour boat KAZU I, to five years imprisonment—the maximum sentence possible—for professional negligence resulting in death. The Kushiro District Court ruled on June 17, 2026, that Katsurada failed to maintain adequate safety management systems, directly contributing to the tragic incident that occurred in April 2022 off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido.

The sinking of the KAZU I resulted in multiple fatalities and disappearances. Among those missing is the father of a man in his 40s who attended every day of the trial that began in November 2025. The son said upon hearing the verdict: "I'm relieved that the maximum sentence of five years was handed down. A weight has been lifted from my shoulders." He had grappled with profound guilt, wondering if his own passion for photography—which inspired his father to take up the hobby and travel to Hokkaido for shooting—had contributed to the tragedy.

On the day of the disaster, the father made a final call to his family, describing the boat tilting 30 degrees and water rising around his feet. "The seawater is too cold to swim in," he said. "OK... I'll hang up now." Those words became his last known communication. When the ship was later recovered, his camera and several lenses were found inside—the only remnants of his presence.

The son's long journey through the legal process was marked by anguish and a struggle to accept his father's death. In a statement to the court in April 2026, he revealed the pain of submitting a death certificate without ever recovering his father's body, saying: "There is a part of me that doesn't want to accept my father's death." He described how the tragedy destroyed "so many futures that should have been." Throughout the trial, he repeatedly observed the defendant, concluding that Katsurada did not appear to be taking the proceedings seriously, despite his claims of innocence. The son emphasized the importance of the court's judgment: "I want the defendant to understand that society has made this decision—that the heaviest possible sentence has been imposed."