Two years after the deadly sinking of a tour boat off Hokkaido, bereaved family members plan to sue the company and its president for damages. 

The lawsuit against Shiretoko Pleasure Boat and Seiichi Katsurada, 60, will be filed at the Sapporo District Court in late May or later, lawyers representing the family members said.

It will be the first time that the families of passengers take action to hold the company civilly liable in court.

According to the lawyers, about 30 family members of 14 of the 24 passengers killed or missing in the 2022 accident are expected to file the lawsuit and seek damages and compensation. The total amount is still being calculated.

The Civil Code provides that the right to claim damages can be inherited by family members in the event of the death of an individual. Therefore, the families of some of the missing passengers will also join the plaintiffs after submitting a death certificate, the lawyers said.

A 51-year-old man in Obihiro, Hokkaido, is one of the bereaved family members who has decided to join the lawsuit.

His son and former wife, who were 7 and 42 at the time of the accident, respectively, remain missing.

On March 21 this year, he received a call from a town office, where the family of three used to reside. He was told that the death registration process for his son was completed.

For the past two years, the man could not laugh. He could not sleep, nor could he even get food down his throat, he said. He has become ill from mental strain and is unable to work.

Late last year, he was contacted by a lawyer and learned that the bereaved families were preparing a civil lawsuit seeking to hold Katsurada accountable.

The lawyer invited him to join the legal action, but told him that it would require an administrative finding that his son had died.

After two months of thinking, he decided to join the litigation. 

It was out of anger against Katsurada, who has not been seen in public since the accident, except for one news conference, he said.

“My son may be drifting in cold water,” he said. “This is unforgivable.”

He said it was hard for him to accept his son’s death and have his death certificate issued. But he said he wants to know the truth and hopes that if Katsurada appears in court, he might be able to ask questions.

Last year, the parents of a deceased crew member, who was 27 at the time, filed a lawsuit against Katsurada and the central government for damages in connection with the accident. The case is pending in the Tokyo District Court.

The First Regional Coast Guard Headquarters, which is based in the Hokkaido port city of Otaru, is continuing its investigation into Katsurada's criminal responsibility, with possibly bringing him up on charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

On April 23, 2022, the small sightseeing boat Kazu 1 sank off the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, in the Sea of Okhotsk.

The 19-ton boat was 16.67 meters long and 4.15 meters wide. It sank a short time after 1:25 p.m.

Of the 24 passengers, including two children, 18 were killed and six remain missing. The boat’s 54-year-old captain and the 27-year-old crew member were also killed.

At the time, strong wind and wave warnings were issued due to the passage of a cold front. Other sightseeing boats decided not to sail that day because of the rough and choppy conditions. Local fishing boats were also being forced to return to port. 

In its accident investigation report, the Japan Transport Safety Board found that Katsurada had been appointed as chief safety manager without meeting qualification requirements. The report said “a safety management system did not exist.”

The report also pointed out deficiencies in inspections conducted by the Japan Craft Inspection Organization and assessments by the Hokkaido District Transport Bureau.

Another bereaved family member is a 66-year-old man who lost his 33-year-old son, a company employee living in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture.

“I don’t want (the accident) to fade away. I don’t want this to happen again,” he said when asked why he decided to join the lawsuit.

The man, who formerly worked in the transportation industry, strongly believes, “If you are in charge of people’s lives, you must prioritize safety over everything else.”

But the boat operator and Katsurada “had not a shred of safety awareness,” the mourning father said.

April 23 marks the second anniversary of the tragedy.

Despite the passage of time, “the sense of loss is getting greater,” he said.

(This article was written by Chifumi Shinya, Shigehito Nakazawa, Jun Hasegawa and Jun Sugie.)