QUOTE
Japan: Fisherman 'shot by Russia'
Tokyo likely to protest incident in disputed waters
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- A Japanese fisherman died after a Russian border patrol boat fired on a Japanese fishing boat east of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, a Japanese Coast Guard official said on Wednesday.
A government source said Tokyo was likely to protest the "excessive use of force" once the circumstances had been clarified.
The Japanese crab boat with four fishermen on board was in disputed waters between Japan and Russia when a Russian border guard opened fire, the Japanese Coast Guard official said.
"We received a report that the fishing boat was fired on and one of the four fishermen was dead," he said.
The Japanese official, citing information from Russian authorities, said the Russian border patrol had seized the Japanese fishing boat before firing.
The Russians then took the Japanese boat and the fishermen to one of four nearby islands claimed by both Russia and Japan, the official said.
The Japanese prime minister's office set up an information task force within its crisis management unit to deal with the incident.
"We are going to investigate what happened, what action the fishing boat was engaged in," the Japanese government source said. "When everything has been made clearer, I think the Japanese government is going to make a protest about the excessive use of force."
Japan and Russia have been locked in a long-running dispute over the islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kuriles in Russia.
The simmering feud has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty more than 60 years after the end of World War Two.
The four islands, as close as 15 km (9 miles) from Hokkaido, were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war in 1945, forcing about 17,000 Japanese residents to flee.
Russia has said it is willing to hand over two islands but Japan insists that all four must be returned.
Tokyo likely to protest incident in disputed waters
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- A Japanese fisherman died after a Russian border patrol boat fired on a Japanese fishing boat east of Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, a Japanese Coast Guard official said on Wednesday.
A government source said Tokyo was likely to protest the "excessive use of force" once the circumstances had been clarified.
The Japanese crab boat with four fishermen on board was in disputed waters between Japan and Russia when a Russian border guard opened fire, the Japanese Coast Guard official said.
"We received a report that the fishing boat was fired on and one of the four fishermen was dead," he said.
The Japanese official, citing information from Russian authorities, said the Russian border patrol had seized the Japanese fishing boat before firing.
The Russians then took the Japanese boat and the fishermen to one of four nearby islands claimed by both Russia and Japan, the official said.
The Japanese prime minister's office set up an information task force within its crisis management unit to deal with the incident.
"We are going to investigate what happened, what action the fishing boat was engaged in," the Japanese government source said. "When everything has been made clearer, I think the Japanese government is going to make a protest about the excessive use of force."
Japan and Russia have been locked in a long-running dispute over the islands, known as the Northern Territories in Japan and Southern Kuriles in Russia.
The simmering feud has prevented Moscow and Tokyo from signing a peace treaty more than 60 years after the end of World War Two.
The four islands, as close as 15 km (9 miles) from Hokkaido, were seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war in 1945, forcing about 17,000 Japanese residents to flee.
Russia has said it is willing to hand over two islands but Japan insists that all four must be returned.
Japan is in no possition to get the islands back. They lost the war. TO THE SPOILS GOES THE VICTOR
