Jiji Press

2 Dead after 2 Ships Capsize off Henoko in Okinawa

The Yomiuri Shimbun
The Henoko district in Okinawa Prefecuture is seen in 2019.

Jiji Press

15:03 JST, March 16, 2026

Naha, Okinawa Pref., March 16 (Jiji Press)—Two ships capsized on Monday off the Henoko district in Nago, Okinawa Prefecture, southernmost Japan, leaving two people dead.

The ships are believed to have been protesting against the Japanese government’s plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futenma air station to Henoko from Ginowan, also Okinawa.

The incident occurred around 10:10 a.m. All 21 people aboard the ships were rescued. Four were taken to a hospital and two of them were later found dead, according to the Japan Coast Guard’s 11th regional headquarters in Naha, the capital of Okinawa.

The two ships involved were the Heiwa Maru, carrying 12 people, and the Fukutsu, with nine aboard, according to the coast guard regional headquarters.