US Edition2 dead after 2 boats carrying students capsize off US base construction site in southern Japan
Two people died and two were injured after boats capsized amid high surf while 18 students observed U.S. military base relocation protests, Coast Guard said.
- On March 16, 2026, two small boats, Heiwa Maru and Fukutsu, capsized off Henoko, Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture, around 10:10 a.m., leaving two dead.
- Students from Doshisha were on a peace-education visit to observe Henoko reclamation amid a high-wave advisory, and the boats are used by protest boat operators, coast guard said.
- Authorities identified the deceased as 17-year-old student Tomoka Takeishi and 71-year-old captain Hajime Kanai; a coast guard boat with six crew on board capsized, and the crew were rescued.
- Around 270 students and staff were visiting Okinawa from March 14 to 17, and Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki said 'I am heartbroken' while the boat operating group expressed regret for the "terrible accident".
- The relocation of MCAS Futenma to Henoko has been controversial for nearly 30 years near Camp Schwab, and Okinawa hosts about half of the 50,000 U.S. troops in Japan.
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32 Articles
2 dead, including girl, after boats carrying students capsize off Japan
Two boats carrying 21 people capsized Monday off Henoko, a controversial relocation site for a U.S. military base off Japan's southern island of Okinawa, throwing all into the water and leaving two of them dead, officials said. The Japan Coast Guard said 18 of them were students from a Kyoto high…
2 die as boats capsize in student tour on base relocation work in Okinawa
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 young people visited the island of Okinawa as part of a peace education program to learn about the situation surrounding the construction of the controversial US military base.
2 dead after 2 boats carrying students capsize off U.S. base construction site in southern Japan
Two boats carrying 21 people capsized Monday off Henoko, a controversial relocation site for a U.S. military base off Japan's southern island of Okinawa, throwing all into the water and leaving two of them dead, officials said.
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