Four people, including two Self-Defense Forces members, were arrested Sunday on suspicion of poaching salmon and trout in a river in eastern Hokkaido, police said.
The police identified the two SDF members as Yukio Fukutoku, 22, and Naoki Sakurai, 26.
The four are suspected of catching nine fish in the Yamubetsu River from 5:30 a.m. to around 7 a.m., in violation of the Law for Conservation of Aquatic Resources, which prohibits fishing in the river.