A ferry with 134 passengers on board got stuck at sea early Thursday about 20 km southwest of Kochi Prefecture's Cape Muroto after it could not haul up its anchor, which had accidentally deployed.
The 12,418-ton Sunflower Kirishima arrived in Osaka around 6 p.m., roughly 10 hours behind schedule. The ferry started its trip from Shibushi port in Kagoshima Prefecture.
The Japan Coast Guard said the vessel sent out word at about 4 a.m. that its anchor had dropped into the sea during bad weather and could not be retrieved.
No injuries were reported among the passengers and 25 crew members.
The ferry slowly moved northwest toward Aki, Kochi Prefecture, and succeeded in pulling the anchor up at around 11:30 a.m. after dragging it to a shallower area. It then resumed its journey to Osaka.