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A boat capsized and was spotted in waters off the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku islets, which are also claimed by China, according to Japan’s coastguard on Monday.
The location of the boat’s initial capsize was unknown, but a Japanese navy patrol spotted it drifting in waters north of the islands on Sunday, according to coastguard spokesman Keisuke Nakao.
He added that the crew consisted of one Taiwanese and six Indonesians.
Divers discovered a body inside the cabin around 9:15 a.m. (0015 GMT Monday), and an ID on the body suggests it was an Indonesian man, according to another spokesman, Masaya Tokita.
Since receiving information about the capsized boat from the Maritime Self-Defense Force on Sunday afternoon, the coastguard has been searching the area with patrol ships and helicopters.
Japanese coastguard officials said they were coordinating with their counterparts in Taiwan, which also claims the Senkaku islets. The uninhabited territory is known as the Diaoyu Islands by Beijing.
The foreign ministry of Taiwan confirmed in a statement that the vessel was a Taiwan-registered fishing boat that had capsized near one of the Senkaku Islands.
“The National Rescue Command Centre has contacted Taiwanese fishing boats near the site of the accident to assist in the search. Taiwan and Japan’s coastguards have also sent ships to search and rescue,” according to the statement.