Japanese maritime authorities have authorised the arrest of the captains of two Japanese fishing vessels involved in a shooting incident with Russian border guards.
On January 29, the fishing vessels entered Russian territorial waters off Kunashir Island and ignored warning shots from a Russian helicopter. The Russian border guard then opened fire at the vessels. The Japanese vessels retreated with holes in the vessel hulls.
When Japan issued an official protest against the Russian border guard's actions, Russia's foreign ministry rejected it, calling their claims "ungrounded and unacceptable".
However, Japanese maritime officials issued the arrest warrant after investigations disclosed that the GPS navigation systems were turned off during the incident and that the bullet holes had been painted over, indicating that the fishermen were trying to hide their location and deny that the incident had happened.
Japan continues to stake a claim on the South Kuril Islands, continuing unresolved tensions between Russia and Japan. The four islands were annexed by the Soviet Union after WWII and the two countries are yet to sign a formal peace treaty following WWII hostilities.
