Mystery ‘ghost ship’ discovery puzzles Japan. Fisherman, defector or spy?
Korean writing on the boat led to conjecture that it was a ‘ghost ship’ similar to those that washed up on Japanese shores in the past
The body washed ashore on Wednesday in Ishikawa prefecture, while a Japan Coast Guard vessel later recovered the capsized boat nearby, local media reported.
Japanese media described the vessel – roughly 12 metres (40 feet) long, crudely built of wood and coated in a black, tar-like substance – as resembling the ghost ships that have washed up in previous winters. Officials, however, have not confirmed its origin.
Against that backdrop, three theories have captured public imagination: that it was a North Korean fishing boat overcome by rough seas, an attempted defection gone wrong, or even a spy craft dispatched to gather intelligence or infiltrate Japan.
Each scenario had precedent, said James Brown, a professor of international relations at Temple University’s Tokyo campus – but premature conclusions should be avoided.