Photo/Illutration Seiichi Katsurada, the president of Shiretoko Pleasure Boat, heads to one of the locations that Japan Coast Guard investigators were searching May 3. (Shigetaka Kodama)

With one key witness missing, presumed drowned, the Japan Coast Guard is honing in on the president of Shiretoko Pleasure Boat to determine criminal liability in the boating tragedy off eastern Hokkaido last month that likely claimed the lives of all 26 people on board.

After two days of searching company offices in the Hokkaido town of Shari, investigators concluded that operator Seiichi Katsurada and Noriyuki Toyoda, the skipper of the Kazu I sightseeing boat that sank April 23 in stormy weather, are primarily responsible for the disaster.

Officials said both men were aware of advisories that weather conditions around the scenic Shiretoko Peninsula, where the boat was headed, would worsen that afternoon.

Fourteen bodies have been recovered so far and 12 people remain unaccounted for.

Seeing as Toyoda is also among those still missing, the investigation will now hinge on whether Katsurada, 58, should be held criminally responsible.

Coast Guard officials searched the offices of Shiretoko Pleasure Boat and other locations linked to Katsurada on May 2 and 3 for evidence of suspected professional negligence resulting in death.

The weather forecast on April 23 included cautions about strong winds and high waves in the area where the Kazu I was headed.

While boat captains call all the shots once a vessel leaves port, the decision to allow the Kazu I to depart from Utoro Port in Shari was approved by Katsurada on the condition that the pleasure boat turn around if weather conditions worsened.

But no clear guidelines were established for deciding to return early. A lack of appropriate safety measures is another issue. It emerged the boat did not have a satellite phone that would have allowed it to follow established procedure by making regular calls to the company office along designated points of the route.

Coast Guard officials plan to question Katsurada on these and other inadequacies to pin down the cause of the tragedy.

Hiroshi Nakamura, a lawyer who once worked as a prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, said the investigation would likely focus on the fact that Katsurada was fully aware weather conditions would change, heightening the possibility of an accident.

Nakamura also said they would also probably seek to ascertain his thoughts on what safety measures and instructions were essential.

“Investigators will also likely look at whether the company’s response was appropriate by comparing its operations with other pleasure boat companies in the area,” Nakamura said.

A major hurdle for investigators is that the cause of the accident will not be made clear until they can determine the extent of the damage to the Kazu I by salvaging it.

(This article was written by Masanori Isobe and Kaho Matsuda.)

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