KUSHIRO, HOKKAIDO ¨C Public prosecutors on Thursday sought a five-year prison sentence for Seiichi Katsurada, president of the operator of a tour boat that sank off Hokkaido in 2022, leaving more than 20 people aboard dead.
In the day¡¯s hearing for the trial at the Kushiro District Court in the prefecture, the prosecution called the sinking ¡°an unprecedented maritime accident that took the lives of 26 people, including passengers.¡± Hearings are set to conclude on Friday, when the defense side is scheduled to make final statements.
The court battle is centered on to what extent the 62-year-old head of Shiretoko Yuransen, charged with professional negligence resulting in death, understood the planned course of the Kazu I tour boat and whether the accident was predictable.
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