Fourteen fishermen went missing after their boat capsized Monday morning in the Pacific Ocean off the town of Urakawa in southern Hokkaido, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard said the 160-ton No. 5 Ryuho Maru, manned by a crew of 18, capsized at around 6:20 some 30 km south of Urakawa while catching Alaskan pollack.
Four members of the crew were rescued by another fishing boat operating nearby, but the 14 others, including the skipper, Hiroyuki Ikabe, 37, disappeared.
The Coast Guard sent six patrol boats and two aircraft to the area to search for the missing crew.