Two people have died after a pair of small boats carrying students capsized in waters off Okinawa in southern Japan, an accident that occurred close to the highly contested site of a new United States military facility, AP News reported.
Authorities said the vessels overturned on Monday near the coastal district of Henoko, throwing all passengers into the sea.
Rescue teams from the Japan Coast Guard managed to retrieve every person from the water, but a 17-year-old schoolgirl and the captain of one of the boats were later confirmed dead after being taken to hospital. Two additional passengers sustained injuries, although officials said their condition was not life-threatening.
The boats had been carrying a group of 21 people, including 18 students from a high school in Kyoto who were visiting Okinawa as part of a school programme focused on peace education. The students had travelled to the Henoko area to observe the coastal region, which has long been at the centre of debate over the relocation of a US military installation.
According to the coast guard, ten students were aboard a vessel named Heiwa Maru, while eight others were travelling on a smaller boat called Fukutsu. The accident took place roughly one kilometre east of the Henoko shoreline. Officials confirmed that all 21 passengers were eventually pulled from the water during the rescue operation.
Investigators are still trying to determine why the boats overturned. At the time of the incident a wave advisory had been issued in the area, although authorities reported that sea conditions were not particularly severe and there was no evidence that the two vessels had collided.
The waters off Henoko have for decades been associated with one of Japan’s most contentious defence issues. The Japanese government plans to move the US Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from the densely populated city of Ginowan to a new facility being built along the coast near Camp Schwab. The relocation project has been delayed for nearly thirty years due to legal challenges and persistent protests by local residents and activists.
Henoko is frequently visited by campaigners who oppose the construction work, but officials emphasised that the students involved in Monday’s accident were not participating in demonstrations. Instead, the trip formed part of an educational programme designed to help young people learn about the region’s history and the broader question of peace and security.
Okinawa hosts a large share of the American military presence in Japan, with roughly half of the approximately 50,000 US troops stationed in the country based on the island under the bilateral security alliance between Tokyo and Washington. Many residents have long voiced concerns about safety risks, environmental impacts and social problems linked to the concentration of US military facilities there.
