Victims’ families are set to sue over fatal boat accident in Hokkaido in 2022

The families of the 14 victims of the fatal tourist boat accident off Hokkaido in 2022 that left 20 people dead and six missing plan to file a damages lawsuit against the ship’s operator in July, their lawyers said on Monday.

The lawsuit by 29 plaintiffs against operator Shiretoko Yuransen and its president Seiichi Katsurada, 60, is expected to be filed in the Sapporo District Court on July 3 and is expected to seek more than 1 billion yen ($6.4 million) in damages.

The 19-ton Kazu I, carrying 26 people, sank on April 23, 2022, after setting off on a three-hour cruise around the Shiretoko Peninsula, a world heritage site on Japan’s main northern island, despite forecasted bad weather.

“The families fear that the memory of the accident may fade since President Katsurada has not apologized or no case has been filed against him,” said Hiroshi Yamada, the lawyer’s representative.

“The purpose (of this lawsuit) is to inform society of the catastrophic situation and take measures to prevent such an accident from happening again,” Yamada said.

Lawyers have also considered the possibility of suing the state and the Japan Craft Inspection Organization, which conducts inspections for small vessels on behalf of the government, over inadequate inspections by the operator, but they have not yet made a decision on the matter, they said .

The Japanese Coast Guard has investigated Katsurada on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death.

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