NAHA, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard has searched a private high school in Kyoto Prefecture on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury following a fatal boat accident in Okinawa in March, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The family of a 17-year-old female student who died in the accident during a "peace education" school trip off the Henoko area in Nago filed a criminal complaint with the coast guard earlier this month against the principal of Doshisha International Junior and Senior High School and others.
The school's operator, The Doshisha, acknowledged on its website Tuesday that it had been subject to a search on Saturday, saying, "We take this matter very seriously and will fully cooperate with the authorities' requests," and issuing an apology.
According to the sources, those named in the family's complaint against the school included the principal, the grade head and the two teachers who were leading the field trip.
The complaint also targeted the co-leaders and individuals responsible for the maritime activities of the protesters' group that operated the boat excursions.
On March 16, two boats carrying 18 students capsized off the coast of Henoko while viewing the ongoing construction of the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to the coast.
The construction has been controversial, not only for its potential environmental impact but also for the perceived burden on the island prefecture that continues to host the bulk of U.S. military installations in Japan.
The student, Tomoka Takeishi, and Hajime Kanai, the 71-year-old captain of one of the boats, died in the accident. Fourteen others -- 12 students and two crew members -- were injured.
The 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters raided the protest group's office and other locations four days after the accident on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury, among other allegations.
In May, the central government filed a posthumous criminal complaint against Kanai with the coast guard, alleging that he violated the Marine Transportation Law by operating an unregistered vessel for commercial purposes.
