Japan objects as China trawler flees with inspectors aboard

TOKYO – Japan has protested to Beijing after a Chinese trawler suspected of poaching off Japan’s southern coast sailed away with Japanese inspectors on board.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Thursday that the incident occurred on Nov. 5 in Japan’s exclusive economic zone off Kagoshima. He said Japan complained to China over the “vicious” case.

Fisheries officials said the trawler, in the Japanese EEZ when spotted, kept sailing after about 10 Japanese officials boarded onto it for inspection until it apparently escaped into intermediate waters.

The officials later that day safely returned to their own ship after its half-day chase of the trawler, with the help of Japanese coast guard.

Japanese officials said inspectors ended up in the buffer zone with the trawler and had to let it go.