The Japan Coast Guard is conducting search operations off the northern island of Hokkaido, public broadcaster NHK said after discovering the disappearance of a ship with 26 people on Saturday.
And NHK said authorities lost contact with the vessel after receiving a message from the crew that water began to enter it early Saturday morning.
On board the ship, which is operated by a crew of two, were 24 passengers, including two children.
NHK said the ship was on the Shiretoko Peninsula, on the northern tip of Japan’s northernmost islands, and is believed to have been sighted near Kashino Falls.
