The government will use an underwater camera next week to investigate an unidentified ship that sank in December in the East China Sea after exchanging fire with Japan Coast Guard vessels, transport minister Chikage Ogi said Friday.

Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Ogi announced the five-day investigation plan starting Monday at a news conference after a morning Cabinet meeting.

According to the coast guard, its survey ship the Kaiyo, towing an ultrasonic probe, will locate the ship, which is believed to be lying on the seabed 90 meters below the surface about 390 km west of Amami Oshima island.

Coast guard officials said they plan to use the patrol ship Izu's onboard remote-controlled underwater TV camera to view the exterior of the sunken ship, which is believed to have come from North Korea.

After the probes with the camera, divers will be sent in to look at the ship, Ogi said.

"There is no change to our plan to act with the final goal of raising the ship," she said, reiterating her strong resolve to salvage the vessel.

The investigation schedule is subject to change, depending on weather conditions, ministry officials said.

The ship sank in China's exclusive economic zone after a shootout with coast guard patrol boats Dec. 22. The government has already submitted to the Chinese side information regarding the procedure and schedule of the upcoming probe.

Transport ministry officials said they have notified the Defense Agency that they may ask for its assistance.

Defense Agency head Gen Nakatani told a separate news conference that Self-Defense Forces patrol aircraft fly over the East China Sea daily to keep a lookout for suspicious vessels, and that this level of regular monitoring will continue while the coast guard carries out its probe.

But he added that at present, there are no plans to dispatch any SDF vessels to assist in the inspection.

Investigations have suggested the ship is from North Korea. None of the 15 crew members on the boat survived. , and the bodies of two crew members were later recovered.