SAPPORO – Hokkaido Railway President Naotoshi Nakajima was found dead off the coast of Otaru, Hokkaido, on Sunday after disappearing six days ago and leaving behind suicide notes, local police said.
Nakajima’s body was discovered by an angler around 7:50 a.m., the police said, adding that the 64-year-old man probably drowned because no signs of injury were found on his body.
The police said they identified the corpse, clothed in a beige shirt and navy trousers, using fingerprint records.
Nakajima went missing Monday morning after having to deal with a derailment in May, officials of the railway operator known as JR Hokkaido said later that day.
The police later found his car on a street near a beach in Ishikari, which is adjacent to Sapporo, while several suicide notes to his family, acquaintances and company personnel were found at his home in Sapporo.
“I have caused trouble at work,” Nakajima had written in one of the notes.
The body was found off the coast of Otaru, which is about 30 km west of the street where his car was found, the police added.
JR Hokkaido was ordered by the transport ministry to improve its business practices in the wake of the derailment and tunnel fire, which injured more than 40 passengers.
The railway operator was required to submit a report on remedial actions by Saturday.
Nakajima, who denied any intention to resign and spearheaded efforts to prevent a similar incident from recurring, was under immense pressure from the accident, JR Hokkaido Vice President Hirohiko Kakinuma said Friday.
“His mental fatigue may have reached a limit three months after the accident. The people around him should have supported him more.”
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