The Zuisho Maru 38 was captured January 21, off Kunashiri Island, one of the four disputed Kuril islands, allegedly carrying over 1.5 metric tons of fish, including cod, Alaska pollack and flounder. The crew did not have a permit to fish in the 3-mile territorial zone.
"The criminal case has been sent to a South Kuril [regional] court after an indictment was issued by district prosecutor Yury Pozdnyakov," prosecutors said.
The captain and owner of the boat, Kawabata Takashi, has admitted illegally fishing in Russia's territorial waters and asked for the case to be reviewed without a court trial, prosecutors said earlier. A preliminary investigation against Takashi started on February 1, and he remained in custody while the other five crew members were released.
There have been frequent seizures of Japanese fishing boats in recent months as Russian Coast Guard authorities have stepped up patrols around the disputed territory. In August last year near the Kuril Islands, a Japanese fisherman was killed when Russian border guards fired warning shots at a boat which refused to stop.
The incident strained relations between Russia and Japan, which have contested the ownership of the Kurils for over 60 years, the dispute that has kept the two countries from signing a formal peace treaty after WWII.
