Nagoya authorities are worried that the more than 100 abandoned boats in its port pose a potential hazard to navigation — as well as a danger to the general public — if a major tsunami were to strike.
By law, owners are responsible for disposing of their own boats, but in light of the approaching fourth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the Nagoya Port Authority has decided "this is a problem that needs to be addressed now."
In the Mino River, which runs through reclaimed land near its mouth, hundreds of boats are docked at private piers.