Mexican Landed on Senkaku Islands; JCG Sees No Political Motivation

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:24 JST, August 18, 2024

NAHA — A Mexican man was found to have landed on one of the Senkaku Islands in Ishigaki, Okinawa Prefecture, on Friday, after apparently drifting in a canoe, the Japan Coast Guard said.

The man was spotted by a JCG patrol ship at around 2:38 p.m. on the east coast of Uotsuri, the largest island of the Senkakus, according to the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Naha.

The man was picked up by a helicopter and taken to a hospital in the prefecture. He was quoted as saying that he had been drifted after leaving Yonaguni, Japan’s westernmost island, by canoe.

Regarding the Senkaku Islands, China has repeatedly invaded Japan’s territorial waters around the islands as it claims sovereignty over the Senkaku Islands. The JCG believes that the Mexican’s landing was not politically motivated.

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