The Fisheries Agency said Sunday it has seized a South Korean vessel suspected of illegally fishing in Japan's exclusive economic zone and arrested the boat's captain.
The 299.25-ton vessel, used to transport catches, was operating in Japan's exclusive waters some 35 km off Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, at around 9:40 p.m. Saturday, the agency's local office said.
Its captain, Kim Tong Sang, 60, is suspected of falsifying the boat's record of catches, the office said.
Earlier Saturday, the office seized an 82-ton fishing boat accompanying the transport vessel and arrested its captain, Kim Yop Yu, 55, on suspicion of fishing in the area without a permit from the Japanese government, the office said.
The transport vessel had a crew of 10 and the fishing vessel a crew of seven. They belong to a fisheries company in Pusan, South Korea, and were operating with another vessel.